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Author:
Educational Finance
Inquiry Commission
Title:
The financing of education
in the state of New York
Place:
New York
Date:
1923
MASTER NEGATIVE #
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Business
Ed8
Educational finance inquiry commission.
TIi(» financing of education in the state of Now York- a
report reviewed and presented by the Educational finance
in(|uiry connnission, under tlie auspices of tlie American
council on education, Washington, I). C. This report w^as
prepared for the commission bv George D. Strayer and
Robert Murray Haig, members of the conmiissioii. New
York, The Macmillan company, 1923.
xiii, 205 p. incl. tables, diagrs. 24^"*. ilts Publications, vol. ij
♦nn^ E^ucation-Ncw York (State) -Finance. jl Strayer. George Dray-
ton. 1876- II. Haig. Robert Murray, 1887- ^ iii. American coun-
cil on education, iv. Title.
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THE
OF EDUCATION
IN
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
wx- BUSINESS
A REPORT REVIEWED AND PRESENTED BY
THE EDUCATIONAL FINANCE INQUIRY COMMISSION
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION
WASHINGTON, D. C.
THIS BEFOIIT WAS PREPARED FOR THE COMMISSION BT
GEORGE D. STRAYER
▲VD
ROBERT MURRAY HAIG
MXMBBM or THS OOUMISSIOir
i
NeiD got*
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1923
All rights reserved
Columbia ©nit^e m'tp
tntl)fCitpofBrtiiiark
LIBRARY
School of Business
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THE FINANCING OP EDUCATION
IN
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
i
A REPORT REVIEWED AND PRESENTED BY
THE EDUCATIONAL FINANCE INQUIRY COMMISSION
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION
WASHINGTON, D. C.
THIS REPORT WAS PREPARED FOR THE COMMISSION BY
GEORGE D. STRAYER
AND
ROBERT MURRAY HAIG
MBMBKRB OF TUB COMMISSION
' *
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Nebj Hot*
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1923
AU rights reserved
PBIMTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMEBICA
1
^)LX.,«Jk>V>iL-A^
Copyright, 1923,
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1933.
V
NortBooH Press
J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
i
FOREWORD
One of the most important and most difficult problems now confronting
the American people is that of public education.^ The problem is twofold.
It relates, on the one hand, to the character and extent of the pubUc educa-
tion that should be furnished ; and on the other, to the cost of carrying
out the educational program that is proposed and the practicabihty of
obtaining the necessary financial support. The growing importance of the
financial question has been emphasized at almost every educational confer-
ence since 1918. Resolutions urging a thorough investigation of the cost of
education, and of the public resources available to support it, were passed
at the Citizens' Conference on Education, called by the United States
Commissioner of Education, in May, 1920. A group of those interested
in this question conferred at the time of the meeting of the Department of
Superintendence of the National Education Association in Atlantic City
in February, 1921. The group designated this question as the most vital
one now confronting school administrators and appointed a committee
to assist in launching an investigation.
The conunittee named at Atlantic City met in New York in August, 1921.
It prepared at that time a memorandum indicating the scope of an inquiry
concerning the financing of education and proposing that a commission be
appointed to carry forward the undertaking. This memorandum was
submitted to the executive officers of the Conwnonwealth Fund, the General
Education Board, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Milbank Memorial
Fund. These officers had already indicated their interest in such an
undertaking. The several boards mentioned accepted the memorandum
presented and provided funds for the conduct of the Inquiry. These funds
were placed in the hands of the American Council on Education, with the
distinct understanding that the responsibihty of the boards donating the
money ended with the payment of these funds to the Council. The indi-
viduals whose names appear in this report were appointed as a commission
to conduct the investigation and were given entire responsibihty for the
work to be undertaken.
Headquarters for assembling and interpreting data were informally
opened at Teachers College in late September, 1921, and were well staffed
and under way by October 24, when the first regular meeting of the Com-
» Throughout the report " public education " is used in the popular sense to mean tax-supported educa-
tion. •* Public schools " is to be interpreted as meaning tax-supported schools. The Commission recognises
the fact that in a real sense all educational institutions are public in that they serve the community, the
state, and the nation.
lU
IV
FOREWORD
mission was held. Beginning at this time' and ending in October, 1923,
the Commission at varying intervals held six meetings of a week each in
New York or Atlantic City and two informal one-day meetings. At these
meetings the Commission outlined pohcies, devised and evaluated general
plans of investigation, and reviewed and criticised the methods of work and
the tentative drafts and later revisions of the manuscripts submitted by the
Headquarters Staff.
In order that the Conmiission might have competent criticism of its
work before pubhcation, the American Coimcil on Education appointed
the following Advisory Committee:
Edwin R. A. Seligman, Professor of Pohtical Economy, Columbia
University, City of New York
C. E. Chadsey, Dean, School of Education, University of Illinois,
Urbana, IlUnois
Matthew Woll, Vice-President, American Federation of Labor, Chicago,
Ilhnois
Wesley C. Mitchell, Director, National Bureau of Economic Research,
City of New York
Will C. Wood, State Superintendent of Pubhc Instruction, Sacramento,
California
Frank Vanderlip, PubKcist, City of New York
James R. Angell, President, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
The report presented herewith and others issued by the Commission
have been reviewed by the members of the Advisory Conmiittee. Their
criticisms have been helpful and have been carefully considered by the
Commission. Full responsibihty for the pubhcation rests, however, with
the Commission.
The Commission desires to acknowledge its indebtedness to Dr. Frank
P. Graves, Conunissioner of Education of the State of New York, and to
his associates, who have cooperated most eflficiently with the headquarters
staff in the assembUng and interpretation of the data for the State of New
York. The members of the Commission were fortunate in undertaking an
intensive study in a state which had assembled more adequate information
concerning the cost of its schools than is commonly found in state depart-
ments. They were even more fortunate in the active, intelligent, and
continuous service which that state department wiUingly gave the Inquiry.
Superintendents of schools, and others engaged in the administration of
schools in the State of New York and throughout the nation, have responded
most cheerfully to our requests for information. Business and banking
houses, insurance underwriters, and others have made available from their
records such data as were needed, and have helped in the compilation of
facts in their several fields over a wide area.
The State Comptroller has rendered valuable assistance by opening his
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FOREWORD ▼
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records for the use of the * Commission. The State Tax Commission
varied its work-schedule in such manner as to give to the Commission
compilations of data in a special form and in advance of the date at which
usually they are available.
A group of graduate students in Teachers College, Columbia University,
— Harold F. Clark, Homer Cooper, John Guy Fowlkes, G. C. Gamble,
W. L. Hanson, Charles W. Hunt, J. R. McGaughy, WiUiam T. Melchior,
R. 0. Stoops, Clarence H. Thurber, John W. Twente, — assisted in the
work of the Inquiry during a period of eight months.
The Commission is indebted to Teachers College, Columbia University,
for space for the work of the headquarters staff. Two rooms with Ught and
heat have been made available for more than two years, without cost to
the Inquiry.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VU
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
PAOli
iii
SUMMARY 3
PART ONE
THE FINANCIAL PROBLEM OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF
NEW YORK
CHAPTEB p^O,
I. Introduction 29
n. The Educational Program of the State op New York ... 22
Compulsory Education 23
Kindergarten Ekiucation 23
Secondary Education 23
Higher Education and Teacher Training 23
Special Education 27
Illiteracy and Americanization Work 27
Local Adjustments 27
III. The Total Cost op Public Education and Its Growth ... 29
Aggregate Current Expenses 29
Aggregate Plant Costs 31
Cash Disbursements 31
Annual Accrued Economic Charge 34
Total Cost .36
Total Costs of Schools of Different Grade 39
rV. Current Expenses op Public Education Analyzed .... 42
The Salary-Ratio Formula 42
Elementary School Costs 43
Current Expenses of Elementary Schools — General .... 43
Variations from City to City .44
Variations from Village to Village 45
Current Expenses and Teachers' Salaries 46
Current Expenses in Elementary Schools by Grades and by Objectives 48
Salary Costs of Regular Teachers by Grades and by Objectives . 53
Aggregate Salary Costs of Teaching and Supervision per Pupil in Eight
Elementary Grades 56
Kindergarten Costs 5g
Current Expenses for High Schools 62
Evening Schools — Adult Education 67
Special Education 70
Current Expenses for Higher Education 70
Training of Teachers in Tax-supported Institutions .... 73
Teachers' Salaries 73
vi
]
CHAPTEB pAOB
V. Plant Costs op Public Education 80
Plant Costs — Cash Disbursements 81
Plant Costs — Annual Accrued Economic Cost . . , . . 82
Imputed Interest — How Calculated 87
Appreciation in Value of School Sites 88
The Adequacy of the School Plant 91
VI. The Support op Public Education in the State op New York
— An Analysis op the Sources 92
Analjrsis of Support by Political Divisions 92
Subventions 93
Basis of Subventions 94
Amounts of Subventions IQI
Analysis of Support by Fiscal Nature of the Sources . . . .101
VII. The Support op Public Education in the State op New York —
The Revenue System 107
The Property Tax 108
The Personal Income Tax I13
The Business Taxes 113
Miscellaneous Taxes 114
VIII. The Present and Probable Future Total Cost op Education in the
State op New York 116
Aggregate Cost of All Education in the State in 1921 . . . .116
Estimated Costs Involved in the Enforcement of Legal Requirements
and the Acceptance of Higher Standards 118
Estimates of Probable Future Increases in Costs 120
PART TWO
RESOURCES FOR MEETING THE PROGRAM
IX. Economic Resources op the State op New York Compared with Edu-
cational Expenditures 127
Economic Resources in the State of New York, 1910-1922 . . .129
Cash Disbursements for Public Education Compared with Economic
Resources, 1919-1920 134
X. The Economic Limitations op Educational Expenditures . 141
The Character of the Educational Product 141
The Increase and Diversion of Educational Support .... 146
XI. The Problem op School Finance in Relation to the Revenue System
OP THE State 156
The System of Taxation 156
Changes Suggested by the Joint Legislative Committee . . .157
Comparison with the '' Model Plan " of the National Tax Association 158
Conclusions iqq
XII. The Size op the Unit por School Support and the Problem op State
A'^ • 161
The Operation of the Present System of Subventions .... 162
State Aid under a County System iqq
"Equalization of Educational Opportunity" 173
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
XIII. The Separate Financing op Schools ....... 177
XIV. Problems op Organization and Administration . , , . 134
Budgetary Procedure in the State of New York . . .* .' • . 154
School Accounting « a*
Financing Capital Outlay* [ [ jgg
Insurance * Iqq
Codification of the Education Law jo^
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LIST OF TABLES
TABLB
KUMBEB PAGE
A Amounts of Various Items — State of New York, 1910, 1915, 1920, and
1922, Expressed in Actual Dollars, for Years Ending June 30 . . .14
B Percentage Relationships of Various Items — State of New York — Ex-
pressed in Actual Dollars, to 1910 as a Base, Computed from the Data of
Table A 15
1. Current Expenses of Public Education, 1910-1922, for Years Ending July 31,
State and Local — State of New York 30
2. Plant Costs of Public Education, 1910-1922, Cash Disbursements, for Years
Ending July 31, State and Local — State of New York .... 33
3. Plant Costs of Public Education, 1910-1921, Annual Accrued Economic
Charge, for Years Ending July 31, State and Local — State of New York . 35
4. Total Cost of Public Education, 1910-1922, Current Expenses plus Plant
Costs, for Years Ending July 31, State and Local — State of New York . 38
6. Total Cost of Public Education (Cash Disbursements) Classified by Type of
Activity Receiving Support, 1910, 1915, 1920-1922, for Years Ending July
31, State and Local — State of New York 40
6. Elementaiy School Costs — State of New York, 1920, 1921, Current Expenses
per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance 44
7. Elementary School Costs — Cities — State of New York, 1911, 1916, 1921,
Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance ... 44
8. Elementary School Costs — Villages over 4,500 — State of New York, 1911,
1916, 1921, Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance . 45
9. Elementary School Costs — Villages Having Less than 4,500 Population and
Maintaining High Schools — State of New York, 1921, Current Expenses
per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance 45
10. Elementary School Costs — Cities and Villages over 4,$00 — State of New
York, 1911, 1921, Total Current Expenses Compared with Teachers' Sal-
aries, per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance 46
11. A Sample Copy of Report Used as Basis for Distribution of Current Expenses
of Elementary Schools among Grades and Subjects 49
12. A Summary of Data for the Fifth Grade Taken from the Special Report of One
City — State of New York, 1922 50
13. Elementary School Costs — One City — State of New York, 1921-1922,
Distribution of Salaries of Regular Teachers, Teachers of Special Subjects,
and Supervisors of Special Subjects among the Several Objectives, per Pupil
Yearly, Based on Average Daily Attendance 52
14. Current Expenses — Elementary Schools — Certain Third-Class Cities, VU-
lages over 4,500, and Union School Districts — State of New York, 1921-
1922, Salaries of Regular Teachers by Grades and by Subjects . . 53
ix
:JLLJ:.»!!ai^ . !. m^^
X LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
MX7MBEB
15. Elementary School Costs — Cities, Villages over 4,500, and Union School Dis-
tricts — State of New York, 1921-1922, Current Expenses (Middle Case)
for Salaries of Regular Teachers by Grades and by Subjects, per Pupil in
Average Daily Attendance 55
16. Elenaentary School Costs — Cities, Villages over 4,500 and Union School Dis-
tricts — State of New York, 1922, Aggregate Salary Costs, per Pupil in Av-
erage Daily Attendance, of Regular Teachers, Teachers of Special Subjects,
and Supervisors, for the Whole Elementary School Period, Grades One to
Eight Inclusive, Calculated to the Nearest Whole Dollar .... 57
17. Kindergarten Costs — Cities — State of New York, 1920, 1921, Total Cur-
rent Expenses, Teachers Salaries, and Current Expenses Other than Teach-
ers' Salaries per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance 59
18. High School Costs — Cities, ViUages over 4,500, and Union Schools — State
of New York, 1911, 1916, 1921, Current Expenses per PupU in Average
Daily Attendance g3
19. High School Costs — Cities and Villages over 4,500 — State of New York,
1911, 1921, Total Current Expenses Compared with Teachers' Salaries, per
Pupil in Average Daily Attendance 55
20. High School Costs — Cities, Villages over 4,500, and Union School Districts
— State of New York, 1921-1922, Salaries of Regular High School Teachers
by Subject and Year of Course, per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance. 66
21. Conmiunities of State of New York — Year Ending July 31, 1922, Salary
Costs of Instruction in Evening Home-Making Education per Student per
Clock Hour go
22. Evening Industrial Education Costs — Selected Communities of State of New
York — Year Ending July 31, 1922, Salary Costs of Instruction in Evening
Industrial Education per Student per Clock Hour 69
23. Evening School Costs — Selected Communities of State of New York — Year
Ending July 31, 1922, Salary Costs of Instruction in Evening Schools per
Student per Clock Hour 7j
24. Higher Education Costs and Property Valuations — State of New York, 1910,
1915, 1920, Expenses for Higher Education, and the Value of Property
Owned and Used by Higher Education Institutions (Private Institutions,
Pubhc Institutions Other than Teacher Training Institutions, and State
Scholarships) 72
25. Cost of Teacher Training in Tax-supported Institutions — State of New York,
1921, Current Expenses of Teacher Training 74
25A Digest of Teachers' Minimum Salary Law — State of New York, According
to Education Law, Revised to July 1, 1923 (Article 33-b) ... 75
25B Median (Middle-Case) Salaries Actually Paid the Pubhc School Teachers and
Principals in Cities and Villages — State of New York, 1922-1923 . . 77
25C Median (Middle-Case) Salaries of Rural Public School Teachers and Princi-
pals — States of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
1922-1923 78
26. Public Education — Cash Disbursements for Capital Outlay, 1910-1922,
Classified by Conunon Schools (Including High Schools), Normal Schools
and Colleges, and General Administration, for Years Ending July 31, State
and Local — State of New York 31
LIST OF TABLES
XI
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TABLE
NUlfBEB PAOE
27. Age of School Buildings — City of New York, 1800-1922 . . . .83
28. School Buildings — City of New York — Date of Construction, and Age in
1921, of Certain Typical Buildings 84
29. School Buildings — City of New York — Date of Construction, and Age in
1910, of Certain Typical Buildings 85
30. Rural School Buildings — State of New York — Distribution of One- to Four-
Teacher School Buildings by Date of Construction 85
31. One- to Four-Teacher Rural School Buildings — State of New York — Date
of Construction, and Age in 1920, of Certain Typical Buildings . . 86
32. One- to Four-Teacher Rural School Buildings — State of New York — Date
of Construction, and Age in 1910, of Certain Typical Buildings . . 86
33. Computed Interest Rates on Issues of Long-Term School Bonds — State of
New York, 1910-1921 89
34. Type of Construction of School Buildings in Certain Districts — State of New
York, Reported in 1922 91
35. Total Revenue for Public Education, Classified by Political Divisions Supply-
ing the Funds, for Years Ending July 31, 1910-1922, State and Local —
State of New York 93
36. Amount and Basis of Federal Subventions for Education in the State of New
York, 1921 95
37. Amount and Basis of State Subventions for Education — State of New York,
1922 99
38. Federal and State Subventions for Support of Public Education — State of
New York, 1910-1922, for Years Ending July 31 102
39. Total Revenue for Public Education, Classified According to Fiscal Charac-
ter of the Sources — State of New York, 1910-1922, for Years Ending
July 31 104
40. Total Gross Outstanding Bonded Indebtedness for Education — State of New
York, 1910-1922 105
41. Total Taxes for Education in the State of New York, Classified by Political
Divisions, 1910-1922, for Years Ending July 31 107
42. Full Value of Taxable Real Estate in the State of New York and Estimated
Income of the People of the State of New York, 1910-1922 ... 132
43. Cash Disbursements for Public Education Compared with Real Estate Values
and Estimated Income (on Basis of the Number of Children between Ages
of 5 and 17 Inclusive) State of New York, 1910-1922 .... 137
44. Taxes for Public Education in the State of New York Compared with Taxes
for Other Purposes, 1910, 1915, and 1920 150
45. Net Expenditures (Cash Disbursements) of State and Local Grovernments,
Classified According to Purpose — State of New York, 1910, 1915, and
1920 153
46. Comparison of Real Estate Valuations per Child of School Age with Expendi-
tures and Sources of Revenue per Child of School Age — State of New York,
1920 164
47. Comparison of Real Estate Valuations per Child of School Age with Expendi-
tures and Revenue per Child of School Age — Ranks on Basis of Middle
Case in Each Group — State of New York, 1920 165
Xll
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
NUMBER
48. Distribution of Significant Data with Reference to Economic Resources and
School Expenditures for the City of New York and for the Counties of the
State of New York jg^
49. Income, Full Value of Taxable Real Estate, and "Index of Economic Re-
sources " per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance, per Child of School Age
and per Teacher, for the City of New York and for the Counties of the
State of New York, 1921 jgg
50. Relationship between Total Taxable Income and Full Value of Real Estate
by Counties — State of New York, 1921 jgg
51. Sources of Revenue for School Purposes, Median Percentage of Receipts from
Each of Five Sources, 1920 I79
52. Differences Found between Cities Having Independent and Dependent
Boards of Education in Terms of Certain Objective Measures, 275 Amer-
ican Cities Reporting for the Year 1919-1920 132
53. Gross Bonded Debt for Education Compared with Full Value of Taxable
Real Estate, Full Value of School Property and Bonded Debt for All Pur-
poses — Cities, Villages, and Towns — State of New York, 1920 . . 188
54. Ratio of Net Indebtedness to Total Value of School Property — State of
New York, 1920 189
55. Bonded Debt per Child of School Age — State of New York, 1920 . . 189
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LIST OF DIAGRAMS
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DTAORAM
NUMBEB ^
A Percentage Increase in the Cost of Taxwsupported Education Related to Per-
centage Increase in Population, Taxes, Money Income, and Real Estate
Values — State of New York, 1910-1922, Figured on 1910 as a Base from
Data in Table B jg
1. The Educational Program of the State of New York as Organized under the
Statutes and Regents' Rulings, 1921 24
2. Cash Disbursements for Public School Sites, Buildings, and Equipment, 1910-
1922, for Years Ending July 31, State and Local — State of New York,
Based on Data in Table 2, Column 1 32
3. Total Cost of Public Education, 1910-1922 (Current Expenses plus Plant
Costs) for Years Ending July 31, State and Local — State of New York,
(Figures in MiUions of Dollars) Based on Data in Tables 2, 3, and 4 . 37
4. Elenaentary School Costs — Cities, VUlages over 4,500, and Union School
Districts, Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance —
State of New York, 1921, Based on Data in Tables 7, 8, and 9 . . . 47
5. High School Costs — Cities, Villages over 4,500, and Union School Districts,
Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance — State of New
York, 1921, Based on Data in Table 18 54
6. Collection and Distribution of State and Local Taxes — State of New York,
for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1922, Total CoUected for This Period
$563,388,591 jqq
7. Annual Cash Disbursements, 1910-1922, and Estimated Annual Cash Dis-
bursements, 1922-1930 — for Public Education —State of New York . 121
8. Variations in Full Value of Taxable Real Estate, Total Income of the People
of the State, and Total Cash Disbursements for Public Education — State
of New York, 1910-1922, Based on Tables 4 and 42 133
9. Variations in the Level of Retail Prices Compared with the Variations in Cash
Disbursements for Public Education — State of New York, 1910-1922,
Based on 1910 as 100, Using Data in Table 4 and Footnote 1, Page 136 . 135
10. Variations in Full Value of Real Estate, in Income and in School Expendi-
tures, per Child of School Age — State of New York, 1910-1922, Based on
1910 as 100, Using Data from Table 43 139
11. Taxes for Education Compared with Taxes for Other Purposes — State of
New York, 1910, 1915, and 1920, Based on Table 44 152
12. Net Expenditures (Cash Disbursements) of State and Local Governments in
Millions of Dollars — Classified According to Purpose — State of New
York, 1910, 1915, and 1920, Based on Table 45 154
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SUMMARY
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FINANCmG OF EDUCATION IN THE
STATE OF NEW YORK
SUMMARY
Purpose of the Educational Finance Inquiry. — This volume represents
the results of the efforts of the Educational Finance Inquiry Commission
to assemble and to interpret the facts relating to the present expenditures
for the several grades and institutions of pubUc education in the State of
New York ; and the relation of these facts to expenditures for other pubhc
purposes and to economic resources, and to describe and explain the tech-
niques devised for the investigation so that workers might apply them in
other states. A detailed outUne of the whole work is given in the Introduc-
tion, pages 19 to 21. The staters educational program, as far as it affects
school finance, is represented in the diagram and the descriptions contained
in Chapter II.
Population of the State. — In 1921, the population of the state numbered
approximately ten and a half millions, of whom more than half lived in the
City of New York. The distribution is as follows :
In City of New York 54%
In cities of 100,000 to 1,000,000 12
In cities of 25,000 to 100,000 7
In cities of 5,000 to 25,000 7
In cities of 2,500 to 5,000 3
In remainder of the state 17
100
Administration and Control of Public Education. — The control of pubhc
education throughout the state is vested in the legislature. Under the
Constitution, the legislature must provide " a system of free common
schools wherein all children of the state may be educated," and may in-
crease, modify, or diminish the corporate powers of the regents who, imder
the name of the University of the State of New York, act as a state board of
education.
The board of regents and other state ofl&cials exercise general supervision
over all public education within the state. The state, also, through its
officials, carries on certain educational activities directly, such as colleges
of agriculture, veterinary science, forestry, ceramics, teacher training insti-
tutions, a nautical school, state library and museum, and an extensive
3
4 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
scholarship system for college students. However, the administration
and direct control of all elementary and secondary schools, and of most
other educational activities, have been delegated by the legislature to
the local authorities and are exercised principally through local boards of
education.
School Enrolment, Pupils, and Teachers. — For the school year 1921
the total enrolment of pupils in all pubhc and private (tax-supported and
non-tax-supported) schools, colleges, and universities was about 2,284,000.
Of these, approximately 1,960,000, or 86 per cent, were enrolled in pubUe
schools and educational institutions and the remaining 324,000, or 14 per
cent, were enrolled in parochial or other non-tax-supported schools or
educational institutions. The proportions varied in different parts of the
school system. About 85 per cent of kindergarten and elementary school
children and only about 25 per cent of higher education students were in
tax-supported schools or institutions.
In 1920, according to figures and estimates furnished by the State De-
partment, approximately 76,300 teachers were employed in the State of
New York. Of these, nearly 60,000 were employed in pubUc schools and
other educational institutions, and nearly 17,000 were employed in parochial
or other non-tax-supported institutions.
The Total Cost of Public Education and Its Growth. — The total state
and local cash disbursements for pubUc education in the State of New York
in the fiscal year ending July 31, 1921, were $175,480,003.^ Of this
amount $148,115,510,^ or 84.4 per cent, was for current expenses of operat-
ing the schools, $6,578,355,' or 3.7 per cent, was for interest on funded debt,
and $20,786,138,' or 11.9 per cent, was for new plant (sites or buildings).
The annual accrued economic cost of the pubhc school system (being
current expenses of operation plus estimated depreciation of plant and
computed interest on present value of plant) was $167,752,459 ^ for the
fiscal year ending July 1, 1921. Estimated on the basis shown on page 82,
the accrued economic cost of education in the private and parochial and
other non-tax-supported institutions, including higher education, was
$51,983,255, and the aggregate accrued economic cost of both public and
private education for the school year 1920-1921 was $219,735,714.
The increases for pubhc education from 1910 to 1921, measured in actual
dollars spent, were :
Total or aggregate cash disbursements, from $59,626,228 to $175,480,003,> or 194 per
cent.
Current expenses, from $47,521,058 to $148,115,510,* or 212 per cent.
Plant expenditures, from $12,105,170 to $27,364,493,' or 126 per cent.
Buildings and sites, from $7,923,152 ' to $20,786,138, or 162 per cent.
Interest on funded debt, from $4,182,018 ' to $6,578,355, or 57 per cent.
Annual accrued economic cost, from $57,781,217 ^ to $167,752,459, or 190 per cent.
1 Tab!3 4.
> Table 1.
• Table 2.
i'
I
\
SUMMARY 5
During this period of twelve years covered by these figures, school ex-
penditures were affected by two factors which should be given due con-
sideration. First, there was, of course, a radical change in the purchasing
power of the dollar. This change, as measured by what is probably the
most accurate index for measuring the dollar of school expenditure, was a
decrease in purchasing power of about 51 per cent.^ Second, there were
increases in the number of pupils educated, and in extensions of the cur-
riculum. The number of pupils enrolled in the public elementary schools
increased about 19 per cent, and the number of pupils enrolled in public
high schools in the state, about 72 per cent, while the whole population
increased only about 15 per cent in this period. During this period com-
pulsory continuation schools have been established. The health service
has been developed. Junior high schools have been organized in many
communities and the curriculum of the elementary school has been en-
riched.
Of the total cash disbursements for pubhc education in 1921, $167,-
967,249,^ or 95.7 per cent, were for elementary and high schools, $5,483,-
503,^ or 3.1 per cent, for normal schools and colleges, and $2,029,251,^ or
1.2 per cent, for miscellaneous general costs (chiefly for the State Depart-
ment of Education). In 1910, the corresponding percentages were 95.1,
2.5, and 2.4.
The increases in actual dollars spent from 1910 to 1921 were :
Elementary and high schools, from $56,710,750 to $167,967,249,« or 196 per cent.
Normal schools and colleges, from $1,491,874 to $5,483,503,* or 268 per cent.
Miscellaneous general costs, from $1,423,604 * to $2,029,251,^ or 43 per cent.
Current Expenses of Public Education Analyzed. — The Inquiry has
developed and tested extensively a simple but very useful formula for
allocating to different parts of the school system their proper shares of
current operating expense. This formula requires for calculation only the
items of total current expense, and the total and subtotals of teachers'
salaries corresponding to the parts indicated.*
By means of this formula current expenses per pupil in average daily
attendance were calculated for various groups of school communities for
different years. Such calculations covered elementary schools, high
schools, and kindergartens as well as subject and grade costs within the
elementary schools and subject costs within the high schools. The new
methods of classification and calculation devised for this purpose could be
advantageously applied in many other states.
The formula could not be applied to costs of evening schools, which were
figured on a per-pupil clock-hour basis with teachers' salaries only, and of
> See note 1, p. 136. > Table 5.
* The amount in actual dollars spent was much larger in this than in either the preceding or succeeding
year, because of unusual plant expenditures. * P. 42.
6 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
teacher training and higher education, which could be computed only on a
yearly basis.
Practically all the items of current expenses are of such a nature that
brief summarization is impossible. Details are given in Chapter IV. It
is, however, worth noting here that in all communities and elementary
school grades, the time or money devoted to the so-called fundamentals —
EngHsh, arithmetic, and the social studies — is usually two-thirds or more
of the total.i The cost of teachers and supervisors of special subjects in
the grades is ahnost neghgible in the cost of a child's education for the
whole elementary school period.*
Teachers' Salaries.^ — Teachers' salaries in the state for certain kinds of
positions in certain types of communities, and for the larger cities are on
the whole above typical salaries for such work in the entire country. But
teachers' salaries in the state are in general distinctly below what might be
expected of the State of New York's resources. The available facts indicate
that the pubhc school teachers outside the largest cities are not so well paid
as they are in a number of other states with which New York is usually
compared.
Plant Costs of Public Education. — The cash disbursements for capital
outlay (sites, buildings, and equipment) for all pubhc education increased
in actual dollars spent from $7,923,152 ^ in 1910 to $20,786,138^ in 1921, or
162 per cent. Nearly all of this was for elementary and high schools, the
amount for these increasing from $7,130,568 * in 1910 to $20,652,914^ in
1921, or 190 per cent.
The capital outlays for normal schools and colleges, and for general state
administration, are extremely variable, going up or down uregularly. The
only feasible summary of these capital outlays is to state that for the twelve
years from 1910 to 1921, the amount of capital outlay in dollars spent for
normal schools and colleges was $3,726,005,* or an average of $310,500 per
year. The similar total for general state administration was $3,990,829,
but most of this was in connection with the Education Building at Albany
and $3,714,142, or 93 per cent of it, occurred in the four years 1910
to 1913.*
Much of the school plant now in service is very old and distinctly below
the standards of construction considered satisfactory, as is shown by the
statistics given in Chapter V of the ages of buildings and types of con-
struction.
Present and Probable Future Cost of All Education in the State. — In
1921, the aggregate accrued economic cost of all education in the state was
as follows : ^
;
\
»P. 56.
« Table 26.
« Table 16.
• P. 116.
•P. 73.
SUMMARY 7
The public school system including tax-supported
higher education $167,752,459
Private and parochial elementary and secondary
schools 28,161,910
Non-tax-supported institutions of higher education 23,821,345
Total $219,735,714
This total may be otherwise analyzed as follows :
Current expenses $193,056,250
Interest (including imputed) 18,500,506
Depreciation 8,178,958
Total $219,735,714
If certain commonly accepted standards were to be made to prevail
throughout the state, and if certain legal requirements were to be fully
enforced, there would be an additional annual cost of at least $21,637,067 ^
to be met by taxation.
Estimates prepared on the basis set forth on pages 120-123 indicate that
the costs in 1925 and 1930 will amount to at least the following sums :
19S6 19S0
Cash disbursements for public education . $207,400,000 $226,400,000
Total annual accrued economic cost for all
schools in the state, whether tax-supported
or not 251,656,000 270,656,000
Total annual accrued economic cost for all
schools in the state, if certain legal require-
ments and certain standards are observed 273,293,000 292,293,000
Sums Raised for Public Education, Classified by Sources. — In 1921 the
following sums were raised for pubhc education :
State Sources
From taxation
For subventions $33 116,103 «-»
For expenditures made directly by state . . 6,016,204 *
Total $39,132,307
From income on permanent fund (for subventions) 382,403 *
Total from state sources $39,514,710 *
Federal Sources
From grants of federal government $672,158 *
Local Sources
From local taxation $118,325,781 «• »
From miscellaneous sources 777,209 '
From borrowing and bond sales 22,937,283 *
Total including borrowing and bond sales . . . $142,040,273
AU Sources
Total exclusive of borrowing and bond sales . . $159,289,858 *
Total including borrowing and bond sales . . . $182,227,141
In the twelve years from 1910 to 1921 inclusive, the total revenues apphed
to pubhc education from all sources except borrowing, were $1,024,339,286,'
> p. 120. « Table 38. » Table 39. * Table 35.
* From unpublished data of Headquarters Staff.
miiiBih
ma
mamiam^m^a^^
8 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
which was $76,815,926 more than the cash disbursements, amounting to
$947,523,360,1 for all purposes except for new buildings, equipment, and
sites. In this period the cash disbursements for new buildings, equip-
ment, and sites were $123,908,274,^ which was $73,718,945 more than the
increase, amounting to $50,189,329,' in bonded indebtedness.
State Subventions to Localities. — About three-fourths of the money-
required to support local schools in the state is raised by local taxation.*
The remainder is paid by the state to the local governments in the form of
subventions out of state revenues.*^ The trend is clearly toward increased
state and national support. Thus while local support has increased about
two and one-half times, state support has increased five times, and federal
support, ten times. In 1910 local pohtical divisions suppUed 86 per cent
of the support ; in 1922 they supplied only 77 per cent.« However, even
with its tenfold increase in twelve years, the federal share now is less than
one-half of one per cent of the total support of pubUc education in the
state.
The increases were made from time to time in the state subventions be-
cause of various facts and conditions. As a result, the aggregate state aid
received by a locahty is not fixed according to any rule based on a single
well-defined principle. Instead, thirteen different standards are used. Of
these standards, those affecting teachers in general determine the distribu-
tion of 91 per cent of the state subventions and those affecting special kinds
of teachers determine about 4 per cent.^
Almost all the state aid is distributed primarily on a per-teacher quota
basis which varies with the classification of the school district, and in the
case of one of the quotas, with the assessed property valuation in the dis-
trict. Approximately one-half of this state aid is entirely unaffected by the
richness of the local resources back of the teacher, and the portion which is
so affected is allocated in a manner which favors both the very rich and the
very poor localities at the expense of those moderately well off.*
The foregoing statement is the conclusion from a study of the full value of
real estate per child of school age in various districts, the only measure of
wealth available for comparing districts.^ But the unsatisfactory nature
of the present state-aid provisions in this respect would continue even if the
county were made the unit of administration and support of schools, no
matter whether wealth be estimated by full value of real estate, taxable
mcome, or any index combining the two on any reasonable basis.^^
The present forces in the state are tending toward the equivalent of a
state educational system supported by taxes of uniform weight throughout
the state. This is the logical conclusion of the widely accepted principle of
" equahty of educational opportunity." "
\
7
ki
» Tables 1 and 2. t Table 2. « Table 40. < Table 41.
' Table 37. • Pj). 162-166. • Table 46. lo Table 40.
•Table 38.
• Table 35.
"^P. 173.
SUMMARY 9
Bonded Debt. — The total gross outstanding indebtedness for public
\ schools in the state increased from $135,981,844 in 1910 to $221,835,687 in
1922.^ This is an increase of 63 per cent as compared with a 229 per cent
increase in cash disbursements,^ or a 235 per cent increase in current ex-
penses ' for the same period. Of this total indebtedness about two-thirds
was incurred by the City of New York, but its share has declined from about
87 per cent in 1910 to about 69 per cent in 1922.*
In 1920 the school bonded debt was 56 per cent of the value of school
sites and buildings, or 35 per cent, if cash balances are subtracted.^
The school bonded debt varies from 1.4 per cent of the full value of real
estate in the City of New York to 1.1 per cent in other cities, .5 per cent in
villages and towns, and nothing in rural areas.'
The school bonded debt varies from 8 per cent of total debt for all pur-
poses in the City of New York to 1.8 per cent in other cities and 27.8 per
cent in villages and towns.'
The City of New York is more heavily bonded for school purposes than
any other city * although there has been a relative decline in the last twelve
years because of little school building in that city.' The village and rural
districts have utilized their credit relatively little in financing their building
operations.^ °
In the last twelve years, for the state as a whole, half the plant construc-
tion costs have been paid from current receipts.^^
Taxation in 1921. — The aggregate federal taxes levied in 1921 in the
United States amounted to $4,902,925,000," being $45.79 per capita of
population.
Federal taxes paid by the people of the State of New York in 1921
amounted to $979,210,729,^* or $93.15 per capita of the people of the state.
New York State taxes amounted to $139,724,079 ;i* local taxes in the
state to $385,050,572 ; ^^ and the total state and local taxes to $524,774,651,
or $49.92 per capita of the people of the state.
The aggregate of all federal, state, and local taxes paid by the people of
the state amounted to $1,503,985,380, or $143.07 per capita of the people
of the state.
Of the aggregate state and local taxes in the State of New York, $382,-
043,443, or 72.8 per cent, were direct taxes on real estate. The estimated
full value of real estate in the state amounted to $16,395,679, 190,^' and the
taxes on real estate amounted to 2.3 per cent of its full value.
« Table 40. « Table 4. » Table 1. * P. 106. » P. 189. • Tables 53, 55.
» Table 63. » P. 189. • P. 106. " P. 189. u P. 106.
*« Report United States Secretary of the Treasiiry.
w Estimated as follows : Income and excess profits taxes on basis of collections in the state ; all other
taxes estimated by assigning to New York that proportion of the other federal taxes which New York's
population bears to the total population of the United States.
M State (Comptroller's Report.
u State Tax Commission's Report.
** State Tax Commission's Report, 1921, page 60.
10 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The aggregate of the individual incomes of the people of the state, as
estimated by the National Bm-eau of Economic Research, was, at its 1919
ratio of New York to total income of the country, $7,500,000,000.
The aggregate of the taxable incomes of the people of the state for 1921,
as shown by the state income tax returns, was $3,215,905,958.*
The aggregate of the federal, state, and local taxes paid by the people of
the state (as shown above) amounted to 20.1 per cent of the aggregate
incomes of the people for 1921, as estimated by the National Bureau of
Economic Research, and to 46.8 per cent of their aggregate reported taxable
incomes for 1921.
Revenue System.^ — Of each $100 spent for public education in the
state (disregarding borrowings), $99 are raised by taxation. The 100th
dollar is supplied by income from permanent state school funds, tuition,
fees, and the like.
The state does not earmark certain taxes for state revenues for education,
but pays its subventions out of whatever revenues it has.
The revenue system consists of nine major taxes which with their names
and proportionate yields for 1922 may be tabulated as follows : '
SUMMARY
11
Name of Tax
Per Cent or Total
State and Local
Revenue for All
PUBPOSES DeRITEO
Per Cent or State
Revenue roB All
PURPOSBa Dbbiveo
1. Property taxes
2. Personal income taxes
3. Business taxes
(a) Business corporation income tax
(6) Bank stock tax
(c) Stock transfer tax
(d) Miscellaneous business taxes
4. Miscellaneous taxes
(a) Motor vehicle tax
(6) Inheritance tax
(c) Mortgage record tax ....
(d) Excise, insurance premium tax,
boxing exhibition, and motion-
picture taxes
77
5
11
7
20
13
40
27
100
100
The property taxes are levied on real estate and certain kinds of personal
property. The general property tax is now 98 per cent a real estate tax
and 94 per cent a local tax. The state's part in this is very elastic, varying
from nothing in 1910, 1914, 1916 to 31| millions in 1922. The general prop-
erty tax is a variable and diminishing source of state revenue but a constant
and increasing source of local revenue and of school support. The control
* State Tax CommiMion figures not yet published.
« The statements and data for this section are derived from Chapter VII.
s Calculated from the data of Diagram 6.
of the amount of school tax to be levied in most sections rests with the local
^ board of education (in a few cities, with the city government) or, beyond
certain limits, with the electorate. Most of the local boards are popularly
elected.
The persorud incorm tax applies to the total net income of residents of
the state and to certain types of income arising within the state for non-
residents. The yield is equally divided between the state and the counties
on ratio of assessed valuation of real estate in the county to the similar figure
for the entire state. The definition of income is much like that of the
Federal Revenue act.
Of the business taxes, the receipts of the business corporation income tax
are divided on the basis of two-thirds to the state and one-third to the
localities where the tangible property is located ; the receipts of the bank
stock tax are divided so that those from state and national banks go to the
locahties and those from other banking institutions go to the state ; the
receipts of the stock transfer tax go to the state ; the miscellaneous business
taxes go to the state.
Of the miscellaneoiLS taxes, the receipts of the motor vehicle tax are
^ divided in the proportions of three-fourths for the state and one-fourth of
the collections from the residents of a county to that county ; the inherit-
ance tax goes to the state ; the mortgage recording tax is spUt half and half
between the state and the locahties ; the proceeds of the excise, insurance
premium tax, boxing exhibition and motion-picture taxes go to the state ;
other miscellaneous taxes, consisting of special assessments for local im-
provements, miscellaneous hcenses, fees, and the like, go to the locahties.
New York is one of the few states which has faced its fiscal problem
squarely and taken steps to put its system of taxation into harmony with
the changed conditions which have come about in the last few decades. As a
result, its system is neither so bad as to operate as a serious limitation in the
present school-finance problem, nor yet so good but that certain important
changes are not desirable. Suggestions by close students of taxation
for such changes will be found in the summaries of the Report of the Joint
Legislative Committee on Taxation and Retrenchment, and of the " Model
Plan " prepared by the Committee of the National Tax Association, given
on pages 158-160.
Economic Resources of the State Compared with Educational Expendi-
tures. — From 1910 to 1922, the expenditures for pubhc education per
child of school age increased nearly five times as rapidly as real estate values
and more than twice as rapidly as the income of the people of the state.^
This increased cost of education was not for identical service. Instead, it
represents an expanded program with many more children attracted to and
held in the upper grades, and, proportionate to population, over 60 per cent
> Table 43.
i
12 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
more in the high schools alone.^ In both of these divisions the cost per
pupil is much higher than in the lower grades.^ Making allowance for the
changing value of the dollar on the assumption that dollars of school ex-
penditures varied in value in an identical manner with the retail price index
presented in the text,^ the cost of providing one day's schooling for each
child in the public elementary and high schools combined increased only
37 per cent from 1910 to 1922.'. *
The Economic Limitations of Educational Expenditures. — On this topic
Chapter X discusses two fundamental propositions :
First, that education is necessary not only to the economic welfare of a
community, but to its very existence.*
Second, that to increase the support of pubhc education means funda-
mentally that the aggregate economic resources of the community must be
increased, or that support must be diverted to education from some other
object to which it is now devoted; and that diversion always involves
abstinence from objects formerly consumed, and, often, because of the
specialized character of economic resources, involves a degree of waste.*
On the purely practical side, the increase of educational support and the
diversion to it of revenues now used for other purposes depend upon
possible or probable changes in the proportions of total taxes and of all
income of the people, devoted to education and to other governmental
needs. Upon such changes the following facts throw hght :
From 1910 to 1920 state and local taxes for education only doubled,
while total taxes for all purposes about quadrupled. The federal, state, and
local taxes in the State of New York for all purposes were in 1920 over twelve,
three, and one and two-thirds times respectively what they were in 1910.^
The percentages of total taxes levied by federal, state, and local govern-
ments in the State of New York, and the percentage of the amount raised
by each devoted to educational purposes varied considerably from 1910 to
1920. The variations may be easily shown by means of the popular device
of the " tax dollar '^ or dollar of total taxes for all purposes, which for 1910
and 1920 was disposed to the nearest cent as follows : ^
IflO Tax DoHar
ifSO Tax DoUar
Education
AliL PURP08E8
Education
All PuRPosEa
Federal Taxes
State Taxes
Local Taxes
$.02
.15
$.19
.11
.70
s
$.01
.08
$.60
.09
.31
Total
$.17
$1.00
$.09
$1.00
» Footnote, p. 138.
» Pp. 141-144.
* Tables 7. 8. 9, 15. and 18. * Footnote 1, p. 136. * Table B.
• Pp. 146-155. > Table 44. • Leas than i cent.
SUMMARY
13
/
\
i
Of the total state and local net expenditures (cash disbursements), for
all governmental purposes, education received 16 per cent in 1910 and 19.3
per cent in 1920. But expenditures for charities and corrections and for
health and sanitation increased much faster.^
In 1920, 13.49 per cent of the estimated income of the people of the State
of New York was taken to finance activities collectively administered under
government control. Taxes for education required about one-ninth of this,
or 1.25 per cent of such estimated income.^
Problems of Orgaiiization and Administration. — The work of the In-
quiry indicates that the major problems of organization and administration
in the State of New York, as far as the financing of public education is con-
cerned, are as follows :
1. The attainment of larger units of school administration and sup-
port.'
2. The establishment of better budgetary procedure ^^ and account-
ing * for school systems.
3. The establishment of better methods of financing plant outlays.^
4. Better provision for fire prevention, and for insurance of school
buildings.^
6. Codification of the education law.^
6. Determination of the relative advantages of fiscally independent
and fiscally dependent school boards."
A study covering the entire country * shows conclusively that the sep-
arate financing of municipal school systems must be considered on other
ground than that of the cost to the community since the costs of schools
administered under the dependent and independent organizations are
approximately equal.'
Data for Purposes of Comparison. — Tables A and B give various sta-
tistical comparisons for fiscal data on schools for the years 1910, 1915, 1920,
and 1922.
Table A presents the original figures in actual dollars. Table B shows
more accurately the comparisons between the figures for the different years
by giving the percentage relationships to 1910 as a base. Diagram A gives
graphically the main features of Table B. In the preparation of this dia-
gram, fluctuations between the specified years were disregarded and, there-
fore, straight lines were drawn from each year to the succeeding one.
* p. 187.
» Table 45. « P. 151. » See Chapter XII.
• P. 188. • P. 190. » P. 191.
• The full account of this study, entitled "The Fiscal Administration of City School Systems," will
appear as Volume V of the publications of the Ekiucational Finance Inquiry.
• P. 183.
>»P. 184.
14 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE A
AMOUNTS OF VARIOUS ITEMS — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1910
1915, 1920, AND 1922
Expressed in Actual Dollars
For Years Ending June 30
IflO
ins
19S0
19SS
1. Estimated aggregate money
income of the people in
billions (page 132) . . .
$3.9
$4.5
$9.1
$7.5 <
1 a. Same per capita of popula-
tion in dollars ....
$428
$462
$876
$706 «
2. Full value of taxable real
estate in billions (page 132)
$10.8
$12.9
$14.7
$17.3
2 a. Same per capita of popula-
tion in dollars ....
$1186
$1323
$1416
$1626
3. Rate of tax per thousand on
full value of real estate ^ .
$17.23 1
$17.08
$21.74
$25.60*
4. Aggregate state and local
taxes all purposes in thou-
sands'
$262,941
$275,473
$487,730
$563,389
4 a. Same per capita of popula-
tion in dollars ....
$28.86
$28.26
$46.96
$62.96
5. Aggregate total federal,
state, and local taxes in
thousands'
$323,986
$349,512
$1,227,301
5 a. Same per capita of popula-
tion in dollars ....
$36.66
$36.86
$118.18
6. Aggregate cash expenditures
for tax-supported educa-
tion in thousands (page 38)
$59,626
$84,842
$117,344
$196,034
6 a. Same p)er capita of popula-
tion in dollars ....
16.64
$8.70
$11.30
$18.43
6 6. Same for furnishing one
day's schooling for one
child, elementary and
high schools combined, in
dollars '"
$.27
$.33
$.48
$.66
'1911. «1921. 'Table 44. « Calendar year 1921.
* Computed from cash-disbursement figures of Table 5, and aggregate days of attendance from reports
of the United States Bureau of Education.
• "Report of Special Joint Committee on Taxation and Retrenchment, March 1, 1922," p. 49.
SUMMARY
15
\
TABLE B
PERCENTAGE RELATIONSHIPS OF VARIOUS ITEMS — STATE OF NEW
YORK — EXPRESSED IN ACTUAL DOLLARS, TO 1910 AS A BASE
Computed from the Data of Table A
1. Estimated aggregate money income of the
people in billions
1 o. Same per capita of population in dollars
2. Full value of taxable real estate in billions
2 a. Same per capita of population in dollars
3. Rate of tax per thousand on full value of
real estate
4. Aggregate state and local taxes all pur-
poses in thousands
4 a. Same per capita of population in dollars
5. Aggregate total federal, state, and local
taxes in thousands
5 a. Same per capita of population in dollars
6. Aggregate cash expenditures for tax-sup-
ported education in thousands . . .
6 a. Same per capita of population in dollars
6 6. Same for furnishing one day's schooling for
one child, elementary and high schools
combined, in dollars
7. Population (Federal Census Estimate)
* 1911. ■ 1921.
1910
100
100
100
100
1001
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
1916
115
108
119
112
99
105
98
108
101
142
133
122
107
1920
233
206
136
119
126
185
163
379
332
197
173
159
114
* Calendar year 1921.
1»S
192 3
166'
160
137
149*
214
184
329
282
244
117
i
16 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
DIAGRAM A
Percentage Increase in the Cost op Tax-Supported Education Related to
Percentage Increase in Population, Taxes, Money Income, and Real
Estate Values — State of New York, 1910-1922
Figured on 1910 as a Base from Data in Table B
Increase
Per Cent
over
I9IO 1910 1915 1920 t»n
400
Aggregate Total
Federal, State,
and Local Taxes.
All Purposes
(Data for igaz
the latest
available)
SCO
\
200
100
Aggregate Caah
Expenditures
for Tax-
Supported
Educatioa
Aggregate State
and Local Taxes,
All Purposes
Estimated Aggregate
Money Income
of the People
Full Value of
Real Estate
Tax Rate per Thousand
on Full Value of
Real EsUte
Population by
Federal Census
Estimate
1910
101t
1M0
\
PART ONE
THE FINANCIAL PROBLEM OF EDUCATION IN THE
STATE OF NEW YORK
r
'■
>
t
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the Educational Finance Inquiry was defined in a mem-
orandum submitted to the executive officers of the several Foundations
which contributed to the support of the undertaking, as follows :
" It is proposed that an Educational Finance Inquiry be organized for
the purpose of making, in selected, typical communities and states, an
intensive study of present expenditures for the several grades and insti-
tutions of public education, and the relationships of such expenditures to
the expenditures for other public purposes and to economic resources, as a
basis for discovering the extent to which the free educational system of
the country can be maintained and developed by the more complete and
economical utilization of both present and potential sources of public rev-
enue — local, state, and national."
The Commission was not appointed to investigate the quality of the
education now furnished by the schools, or the character and extent of
the education which should be furnished at public expense. The Com-
mission was appointed to investigate only that part of the entire educational
problem which relates to the cost of present-day education, and to the cost
of carrying out fully the program which now generally prevails.
The Commission conceived the undertaking to involve the assembling
of a body of facts and the reasonable interpretation of them. The Inquiry
in itself is separate and distinct from any specific practical program of
accomplishment which may grow out of its results. The purpose is essen-
tially the gathering of evidence, upon the basis of which more intelhgent
economic judgments may be formed with respect to the financing of the
public school system.
The program of work of the Commission, as stated in the memorandum
already referred to, contemplated first of all an intensive study of a single
state. It was believed that this procedure would limit the work of the
Inquiry to an area from which tangible conclusions could be secured within
a reasonable time, and that it would be possible to complete such a study
within the limit of the funds made available. It was felt, as well, that such
an intensive study would help to perfect a technique applicable to other
states and communities.
19
20 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
This report attempts to analyze the financial problem of education
in the State of New York. It is an attempt to supply not a solution of the
problem, but an analysis which should prove a substantial contribution to-
wards a solution. The aim throughout has been to state fully all of the
important pertinent facts, without attempting to draw conclusions as to
the course of action which they seem to imply. No attempt is made to
pass judgment on questions of educational policy, and every effort has been
made to restrain comment on the facts to that minimum which will ex-
plain their limitations and prevent their misinterpretation.
The report is divided into two parts. Part I is devoted to a statement
of (1) the educational program of the State of New York; (2) the aggre-
gate costs of public education ; (3) the current expenses of public education
analyzed by grades and subjects ; (4) an analysis of the sources of revenue ;
(5) current problems of fiscal administration ; (6) the total economic cost
to the citizens of the State of New York of the maintenance of tax-sup-
ported schools.
The statement of the plan of the Educational Finance Inquiry, pre-
pared at the time of its original organization, makes it clear, however, that
the functions of the Conamission are not completely discharged when it
has prepared an exhibit setting forth these facts. The Commission was
established to make not only " an intensive study of present expenditures
for the several grades and institutions of pubHc education," but also to
study " the relationships of such expenditures to the expenditures for other
pubHc purposes and to economic resources, as a basis for discovering the
extent to which the free educational system of the country can be main-
tained and developed by the more complete and economical utihzation of
both present and potential sources of revenue — local, state, and national."
In Part II is an attempt to explain what the financial problem formulated
in Part I really means, when examined in relation to its background of eco-
nomic and fiscal resources, and the governmental organization and ad-
ministration.
It is not possible in this general report to include in detail the original
data upon which calculations are based. An attempt has been made,
through the presentation of sunmiary tables, to indicate not merely the
total cost of the public school system and of its several parts, but to indi-
cate, as well, the variation which occurs among the many administrative
units within the state. Wherever the technique employed is new or unusual
a brief statement of methods has been given.
Throughout the report the analysis of school expenditures is in terms of
the divisions of the school system and subjects taught. While it would be
interesting to know just what percentages of the total cost are devoted to
general control, instructional service, operation, maintenance, fixed charges,
debt service, capital outlay, and auxiliary agencies, such a functional
.
INTRODUCTION
21
T
'i
>
*
analysis was not possible upon the basis of the accounts kept in the 11,224 ^
f school districts in the State of New York. It is to be noted that the item
*' teachers' salaries " is used throughout the study as a basic figure in
the determination of costs. The report does not, however, attempt
to report fully upon teachers' salaries. Comprehensive studies in this
field have been made in recent years on a nation-wide basis by committees
of the National Education Association which make it possible to com-
pare salaries in the State of New York with those in other parts of the
country .2 For this reason, it did not seem wise to spend the resources of
the Inquiry on a teacher-salary study.
In order to provide more detailed information for students of educational
finance, and for those who would check the findings of the general report,
there will be issued, as supplementary to this document, special reports on
(1) the cost of elementary education ; (2) the cost of secondary education ;
(3) separate financing of municipal school systems. An annotated bibUog-
raphy on educational finance and a nation-wide study of school expendi-
tures will be issued shortly after the publication of this report. It may
be that one or two other special studies will be added to this list before
the work of the Commission is completed.
Studies similar in character to that undertaken in the State of New
York are under way for CaUfomia, Illinois, and Iowa. The reports of
these studies will, it is hoped, be published shortly. A special investigation
of the unit cost of higher education is also in the course of preparation.
In all tables giving data in dollars over a considerable number of years,
the reader must guard against a false impression from not taking into
account the fluctuating value of the dollar. The figures for this fluctuat-
ing value are given in note 1 on page 136.
> In 1919-1920. See footnote 3, p. 162.
« "Teachers' Salaries and Salary Schedules in the United States, 1918-19." Prepared for the Commis-
sion on the Emergency in Education of the National Education Association by E. S. Evenden Pub-
lished 1919.
"Teachers' Salaries and Salary Trends in 1923." Report of the Salary Committee of the National
Education Association, E. S. Evenden, Chairman. Published July, 1923.
i
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM OF THE STATE
23
f
CHAPTER II
THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM OP THE STATE OF NEW TORK
The educational system of the State of New York is essentially a public
system. From the beginning the underlying theories of state responsi-
biUty and state authority have been developed in statute law and have been
upheld by judicial authority. The constitution of the state obUgates the
legislature to provide for the maintenance and the support of a system of
free common schools wherein all the children of the state may be educated.
In consequence of this there has been developed a more or less completely
organized educational system, supported from the pubUc treasury and ex-
tending from the kindergarten through elementary and secondary schools.
This system further includes a variety of schools for special purposes and
special classes, institutions for the training of teachers and for certain kinds
of higher and professional education. Since 1784 the oversight of second-
ary and higher education has been vested in a board of regents. In 1812
the common school system was organized and the ofl&ce of superintendent
of common schools created. Since 1867 the State of New York has main-
tained a system of free pubUc education. The Board of Regents has from
the beginning had general oversight over both the tax-supported schools
and the non-tax-supported educational agencies organized for secondary and
higher education within the State of New York. Since 1904 the board has
had general supervisory powers over all educational activities of the state.
In the year 1920 the total population of the state was 10,385,227. Of
this total, half was in the City of New York, with its population of 5,620,048.
Approximately 83 per cent of the people lived in places having more than
2,500 population, while over 1,750,000 lived in smaller villages and in the
rural areas of the state. The inquiry concerning the financing of education
in the State of New York includes, therefore, approximately one-eleventh
of the population of the United States and involves the problems of all
kinds of communities from the largest city to the strictly rural area.^
1 There are in the State of New York 3 cities of the first class (over 175,000 population) ; 7 cities of the
second class (50,000 to 175,000 population) ; 49 cities of the third class (below 50,000 population) ; 58 vil-
lages having more than 4,500 population ; 414 union free school districts maintaining four-year high schools ;
117 union free school districts maintaining three-year high schools; 31 union free school districts main-
taining two-year high schools; 53 imion free school districts maintaining one-year high schools. There
are in addition to these school districts 9,644 rural school districts not maintaining high schools. In every
case, the report includes data — in so far as comparable figiu-es could be secured — for all of the city and
village school districts. For the rural school districts, an attempt was made to secure data from the 6rst
numbered district in each of the supervisory districts. This gave data from a random selection of approx-
imately 1,000 of the rural school districts. (All figures for 1920-1921.)
22
i
The State of New York provides at pubhc expense elementary and sec-
ondary education, schools for groups needing special opportunities, train-
ing schools for teachers, and in part institutions of higher education. The
law of the state makes separate provision for the education of those under
and those over sixteen years of age. The division at this age level is, how-
ever, not hard and fast in all phases of education. Moreover, the law pro-
vides for a sharp differentiation in the compulsory educational program as
between districts of over 4,500 population employing their own superin-
tendents and the smaller communities. The program as determined by
law is shown graphically in Diagram 1.
This diagram is explained and supplemented by the discussion of the
various phases of the educational program given below.
Compulsory Education. — Attendance is compulsory during all of the
time schools are in session (minimum 180 days each year) for all children
from seven to sixteen in communities of 4,500 or over which employ a su-
perintendent of schools, unless such children over fourteen years of age are
legally at work. In places under this size, the beginning age is eight instead
of seven. In districts having 5,000 population or more, part-time continu-
ation schools are provided for legally employed children, and for others
not in attendance upon regular instruction in day schools, between fourteen
and eighteen years of age. Full provision for such continuation schools is
not required by law until September, 1925. Evening schools ofifering the
common school branches and additional subjects adapted to the needs of
students applying for instruction are required for persons over sixteen years
of age.
Kindergarten Education may be provided by local communities for chil-
dren between the ages of four and six years.
Secondary Education. — The age-limit requirements of the law indi-
cate that the State of New York contemplates the education of children
at pubUc expense through the secondary school age, in high schools, or in
continuation schools. Evidence that secondary education is an integral
part of the state's program is found in the fact that where pupils live in
districts without high schools the state provides for their admission to the
high schools of neighboring districts, and makes a payment of $50 for each
pupil so admitted. The state maintains five schools of agriculture, one
of agriculture and domestic science, and a nautical school, all of secondary
grade.
Higher Education and Teacher Training. — The State of New York
does not provide free higher education for all who apply for it, as most
other states do through their state universities and colleges. It does
provide state colleges in certain practical arts, and state scholarships for
college education. Moreover the City of New York supports two city
colleges and a number of cities have their own training schools for teachers.
-I lim StlT^t
24 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
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EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM OF THE STATE
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26 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The state's program is based on the assumption that most of its higher
education will be carried on at private expense, under control exercised by
the State Department of Education, through its examinations for the
professions and its power to issue and revoke the charters of degree-granting
institutions.
However, the state supports a college of agriculture and veterinary medi-
cine in Cornell University, a college of forestry in Syracuse University, a
college of ceramics in Alfred University, and a Ubrary school in connection
with the State Library at Albany. The City of New York, under per-
missive legislation, maintains the College of the City of New York, an
institution of collegiate grade for men, and Hunter College, an institution
of similar grade for women. These two institutions in the City of New
York, while comparable with the collegiate departments of the best state
universities, do not make the full provision for graduate and professional
work which is usual in state universities.
The state also provides certain scholarships for higher education which,
although substantial, do not involve public support of higher education
to the same extent as in most other states. Seven hundred and fifty
scholarships of an annual value of $100 each are awarded each year, valid
for a period of four years, to residents of the State of New York taking
college courses within the state. Thus at any one tune, about three
thousand students are aided by these scholarships. Not more than twenty
of them may be awarded to the residents of any single assembly district.
Originally the scholarships were adequate to cover tuition, but now they
provide only about one-half of the tuition commonly charged. Cornell
University, by its charter, is required to grant free tuition to one student
from each assembly district, making a total of 150 such students. For
the special benefit of soldiers, sailors, marines, and trained nurses, 450
scholarships were estabhshed in the year 1919 ^ at various schools to the
value of $200 per year. Preference is given to those who are prepared for
college, and up to 1922 no one with less than this preparation has been
appointed. The State of New York may, therefore, be said to encourage
certain qualified students to continue their courses in college or university,
rather than ta make general provision for free higher education.
As a part of its program of higher education, the State of New York
provides for the training of teachers. There are ten state normal schools,
which in 1920 required for graduation a two-year professional course based
on a four-year high school course. This course was lengthened to three
years in 1922, providing training for elementary and junior high school
teachers and teachers of special subjects. In addition to these state schools,
the City of New York maintains three schools for training its elementary
» The year for which the facts are reported will in every case be designated by the year in which the
school year closes. For example, the year 1918-1919 will be designated as the year 1919.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM OF THE STATE
27
teachers, and in 1920 nine other cities had similar schools. A state teachers'
y college for the training of high school teachers is maintained at Albany.
This school offers a four-year professional course beyond high school grad-
uation. In 1920 there were fifty-seven teacher-training classes for prepar-
ing rural teachers, estabhshed in high schools and subsidized by the state.
Special Education. — Districts must maintain special classes for bUnd,
deaf, crippled, or otherwise physically-handicapped children, or for children
mentally retarded three or more years, whenever there are ten or more of
any class in the district. If there are less than ten in any one group, the
district may contract with another district for this special education. The
state makes provision for educating bhnd children and deaf mutes in state
schools or in private institutions at state expense.^ A blind or deaf citizen
of the state in actual attendance at a higher institution in the state, other
than one for the bhnd or deaf, may, if worthy, be allowed $300 for a
reader or assistant. The State Department of Education is required by
law to arrange for such therapeutic treatment as may be necessary for the
rehabiUtation of physically-handicapped persons who have registered with
the Department of Education. It is also required to provide maintenance
4 cost, during the period of actual training, for physically-handicapped per-
sons registered for rehabiUtation, such maintenance costs not to exceed
$10 per week for a period not to exceed twenty weeks.^ The state makes
special provision for educating Indian children on reservations and dis-
tributes school money to orphan asylums, just as it does to districts, in
proportion to the number of children to be educated.
Illiteracy and Americanization Work. — Various districts are encouraged
to give special work for iUi terates and non-English-«peaking persons of sixteen
years or over, under state supervision, and with teachers especially trained
for the purpose. State aid is given for half the teacher's salary up to $1 ,000.
Local Adjustments. — Certain conmiunities have the right to estabhsh
schools pecuUarly adapted to their special needs. Two or more adjoining
school districts may provide for the formation of a consohdated high school.
When authorized by the voters of the area involved, city and union free
school districts may establish general industrial, unit-trade, technical-agri-
cultural, mechanic arts and home-making, practical arts, and evening vo-
cational schools. The board of supervisors in each county outside of the
City of New York may, without a vote of the people, estabhsh a farm
school for instruction in trades, industrial, agricultural, and home-making
J subjects for children between eight and eighteen years of age.
« The confused sUte of the education law is illustrated by the provisions governing special education.
Even with the assistance of the officials in the State Department of Education it was found impossible to
make a more definite statement than that which appears above with respect to the precise dividing line
between state and local responsibility for special education. The need for a codification of the educatioa
law is discussed later (see p. 191).
« This is entirely apart from any rehabilitation work for soldiers and sailors.
28 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OP NEW YORK
In addition to the schools maintained at public expense, the citizens
of the state maintain other educational institutions from funds arising
from gifts and endowments, and from the payment of fees. Of the total
charge against the people of the state for the maintenance of education
in the year 1921 ($220,000,000) approximately one hundred sixty-eight
millions ($168,000,000) was a charge against the public treasury, while the
remaining fifty-two miUion dollars ($52,000,000) was supphed from pri-
vate sources to maintain the schools, colleges, and universities which were
not tax-supported.
f
)
CHAPTER III
THE TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS GROWTH
This chapter deals only with the purely public system of education
which in 1921 cost $ 167, 752,459. ^ It restricts itself to aggregate figures.
Its main objective is the development of Table 4 (page 38), which
shows the total cost of public education in the state for each
year from 1910 to 1922. Table 4 is the result of consohdating the
figures of " aggregate current expenses " and " aggregate plant costs "
which are presented and discussed in the two sections which immedi-
ately follow. To understand the precise content of the figures in Table 4
it is necessary to examine underlying data appearing in these two
sections.
Aggregate Current Expenses
The annual current expenses* of the public educational system of the
state for the past thirteen years are shown in Table 1. These figures
represent the money spent for salaries, wages, fuel, supplies, etc., about
three-fourths being accounted for by teachers' salaries. They include no
" capital outlay," such as expenditures for land, buildings, and equipment,'
and no " debt service," such as interest on permanent loans or provisions
for amortization.* In this or any other table giving data in dollars over a
considerable number of years y the reader must guard against a false im-
pression from not taking into account the fluctuating value of the dollar.
In this connection, see note 1 on page 136.
More than three times as much money was required to meet current
expenses of the public schools of the state in 1922 as in 1910. While each
year shows an increase as compared with the preceding one, there was a
distinct slackening in the rate of increase in the years of 1916 and 1917 and
•This is the "annual aeorued economic coat" (p. 38). The cash disbursements for this year were
$175,480,003. The total cost figures of public education as given in this chapter do not include the costs
of pubUc Ubrariea and the costs of public institutions for defective and delinquent children.
«It should be noted that the term "current expenses" in ordinary accounting usage would cover the
item of "interest payments," which in this study is classified with "plant costs." The term "expense"
M here UMd is not to be interpreted as implying that in all cases items are accounted for on the accrual
• "Equipment" is interpreted throughout this report to include school furniture, library books, appa-
ratus, and the like. That which is not consumed within the year during which it is purchased is called
equipment, in order to distmguish equipment from supplies, supplies being defined as including all things
which may be worn out or used up during any one school year
« See Chapter V, p. 80.
29
30 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE 1>
CURRENT EXPENSES 2 OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, 1910-1922
For Yeabs Ending July 31
State and Local — State of New York
1910 $47,521,058
1911 49,470,831
1912 54,680,626
1913 56,430,111
1914 62,714,645
1915 66,982,589
1916 » $67,548,473
1917 68,582,162
1918 76,258,399
1919 84,855,429
1920 101,395,871
1921 148,115,510
1922 159,195.578
1910
1915
1920
1921
1922
City of New York Only
$27,382,101
37,607,162
62,557,057
83,855,207-
86,200,136
» Except where otherwise stated the figures upon which the tables in this chapter are based were drawn
from the official annual reports of the State Department of Education, the State Comptroller and the
Comptroller of the City of New York. The figures for the most recent years were usually taken from the
original records, published reports being not yet available.
* Includes interest onjtemporary debt.
» The state's fiscal year was changed at this time, so that certain of the state expenditures were for a
nine-month rather than a twelve-month period.
a rapid acceleration during the last four years of the period. The largest
single increase was in the year 1921, when new state-wide salary legislation
became effective. The amount of the increase in this year was aknost as
great as the entire amount paid out in current expenses in 1910.
The figures at the foot of the table, representing current school expenses
of the City of New York only, for selected years, show variations similar
to those for the state as a whole.
As has been noted, a high percentage of the current expenses consists
of salaries and wages. This fact is of significance in relation to the problem
of the probable future course of expenditures. Ordinarily wages and sal-
aries rise more slowly and fall less quickly than do other prices. This is
particularly true in the pubUc service. Moreover, in the opinion of many
students of the problem, the recent advances in teachers' salaries represent
merely a partial recognition of the advance in the level of prices. They
contend that it would be unwise from every point of view, including the
economic, to reduce the new level of teachers' salaries. Since this posi-
tion is widely held, it seems unlikely that the immediate future will
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS GROWTH 31
bring material reductions in the aggregate current expenses of educa-
y tion, unless there should be so great a drop in the level of prices as
to place the salary schedule radically out of balance with prices in general.
When one takes into account the strong demand for expansion of the edu-
cational program and advance in educational standards, increases in cur-
rent expenses seem more probable than decreases.
Aggregate Plant Costs *
The costs involved in supplying the physical equipment of the public
school system cannot be presented so simply as could the current expenses
discussed in the foregoing section. To secure an adequate conception
of the situation it is desirable to approach it from at least two points
of view.
A. Cash Disbursements. — The first point of view is that of the pubHc
treasury. The appropriate facts are those relating to the money which is
spent each year for purchasing new sites, buildings, and equipment, and
for paymg interest on the funds borrowed to finance such purchases.
Table 2 presents these treasury facts. It shows what the state and lo-
V caUties spent in actual dollars year by year for capital outlay and interest.'
The figures under the caption " Capital Outlay " are shown in graphic
form m Diagram 2. It will be observed that the sums spent for new sites
buUdmgs, and equipment increased from year to year at a moderate rate
until 1915, when the progression was disturbed by the outbreak of the war
m Europe. A tendency to restrict extensions of the school plant is plainly
apparent m the figures for the years 1915 to 1920. Not until 1921 did
capital outlay reach as high a level as that attained in 1914.
In the absence of an elaborate physical survey for the purpose of deter-
mimng how much capital outlay is necessary in order to provide and main-
tain an " adequate " equipment of schoolhouses, it is not safe to draw dog-
naatic conclusions from Diagram 2. However, the facts make one point
clear : contrary to a view sometimes expressed, the recent increase in ag-
gregate school expenses is not due to an attempt, by inordinately large
capital outlays, to make up for the setback in the normal construction
program dunng the starved years of the war.
Thus, if the rate of increase during the period 1910-1915 can be accepted
as an indication of the normal increase in capital outlay, the diagram would
«nde?c::I::ette^t^'^ **"* '"^'^ ^^---<- -<^ -l-i" (but not dep^ciation) are included
n*JJllnI?\^ "^"J^ '^** ^° ^ *' ^"^^ representing amorti.ation of debt by payment of bonds or
d;Zln^in^t"ftw^^•inI^ "''"'' .''^ ^^' ^'"^ *^^ '^-^ wo^d clearly ttl^e
when thrdebTS'o!td Th fi * ?"^" '**"' aa a coet both when the borrowed sum is spent and
when the debt is pa d. The figures as given recogni«5 the item as a cost when the money is actuX spent
for new sites, buildings, or equipment, regardless of whether it is obtained by loans or tax^T^rT?!
reoogmimg the itema as costs when the loana are amortised. See Chapter V. vru«»«wie
(
32 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS GROWTH 33
r
HlUioas
of
Soiurs
DIAGRAM 2
Cash Disbursements for Public School Sites,
30
xj\jxuuii.-^\jiOf Av%u A:j\i\jxirBa.Zjs:n If ±u±\J^xiJ£i*i
28
For Years Ending July 31
State and Local — State op New York
Based on Data in Table 2, Column 1
/
26
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24
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22
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20
18
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16
/
14
/
12
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\
/
6,
>
4
2
0
)
TeM»->i9io 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921* 1922
K
TABLE 2
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, 1910-1922
A. Cash Disbursements
For Years Ending July 31
SUiU and Local — State of New York
Yeab
Capital Outlati
Interest Payments*
Total
1910
$ 7,923,152
$4,182,018
$12,105,170
1911
8,562,419
4,249,927
12,812,346
1912
9,762,159
4,294,316
14,056,475
1913
10,738,778
4,870,354
15,609,132
1914
12,610,632
5,275,382
17,886,014
1915
12,244,801
5,614,285
17,859,086
1916
7,117,414
5,452,861
12,570,275
1917
7,872,247
5,405,562
13,277,809
1918
7,956,731
5,584,309
13,541,040
1919
8,337,141
5,508,667
13,845,808
1920
9,996,662
5,951,620
15,948,282
1921
20,786,138
6,578,355
27,364.493
1922
30,033,883
6,804,948
36,838,831
City of New York Only
1910
$4,171,189
$3,503,545
$7,674,734
1915
6,654,454
4,406,124
11,060,578
1920
2,863,398
4,083,690
6,947,088
1921
9,559,011
4,162,922
13,721,933
1922
13,857,989
4,600,000
18,457,989
> This item includes disbursements for sites, buildings, and equipment. In obtaining this figure certain
adjustments were made to allow for the changes in classification in the reports of the State Department of
Education and to exclude expenditures for repairs and other items included imder capital outlay in the
state report classification.
« Interest payments for the City of New York are estimated on the assumption that the ratio of interest
on the educational debt to interest on the total city debt is the same as is the ratio of the amoimt of the
city educational debt to the amount of the total city debt.
» The state's fiscal year was changed at this time so that certain of the state expenditures were for a
nine-month rather than a twelve-month period.
seem to show that certainly the expenditure of 1921 and perhaps even
the large 1922 expense was only what might have been expected in the
ordinary course of events, had there been no interruption due to the war
and no great changes in construction costs.
A large part of the money spent for capital outlay during the period
represents mere replacements of worn-out plant and equipment, rather
than extensions of plant or improvements in the grade of facihties. As
a matter of fact, the actual depreciation in existing buildings and equip-
ment during the period 1910-1921 ^ was suflftcient to offset nearly one-
» See p. 35, Table 3.
34 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
half the total amount credited to capital outlay in the table and diagram
dunng those years. . *
It must be remembered, also, that capital outlay for extensions of plant
^necessary merely because of increased numbers, entirely aside from the
Wion of improvmg the standards of the school plant. Fr«m 1910 to
1920 the population of the state increased fourteen per cent and the pupils
m average daily attendance twenty-two per cent.'
Even more important than the foregoing considerations is the phenom-
enal increase m the cost of building schoolhouses. In spite of the tendency
to restrict capital outlay during the war, it is of interest to note that almost
precisely the same amount of money was spent on school plant during the
second SIX years of the period as during the first six vears fl910-lQl«;
TT^' I'l^T' '''''''''^^- «— ' constSon cl dJ :
wA.? ^T *^' '^"'^ ''"'* ^ '""* ^<^^^'' than during the first
half that the accommodations suppUed by the capital outlay of the second
8W years were certainly not more than one-half as large as those secured
by the outlay of the first six years.
These facts all tend to support the view that the state has not yet reached
the peak of capital outlay. On the contrary, they indicate that, if the
same standard of plant facilities is to be maintained in the future as has
been reached m the past, large increases are to be expected in the forth-
coming yeara. How inadequate the standard has been is clearly evi-
dent from the statistics of part-time students » for whom full-time ac-
commodations are not available.
The figures for the City of New York alone, shown at the bottom of Table
2 prompt two observations. The first is that, during the past three years,
the city, as compared with the rest of the state, has spent relatively less
for new school plant than it did in 1910 and 1915. The second point is the
evidence, supphed by the interest payments, regarding the increased ex-
tent to ^.hich the school plant up-state is financed by borrowed money.
Whereas m 1910 the interest payments on school debt in the City of New
i ,^I^?u™*^^ "P seven-eighths of the total for the state, in 1920, 1921
and 1922 they formed only about two-thirds of the total
B Annual Accrued Economic Charge. - In the preceding section plant
costs are discussed in terms of the cash disbureements made from the
pubhc treasury during the period. The figures now presented relate not
to actual dollar operations of the treasury, but rather to the true annual
«.r.b.y >o^r than tho« which bJ^::T.^T,^ ^Zlt !'Z!r "" '^' '""" "" "*" '^
» ^iTXlT •"-• "'""'' "'"^ '^^ '^ «-' *" """^ -boolh„u« to .920 ,« U«. tin.-
•See pp. 91, 11».
r
)
A
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS GROWTH 35
accrued economic charge upon the community's resources, occasioned by
the school plant. Annual accrued economic charge means not money
paid but money's worth used up.
In the first set of figures, capital outlays appear when the money used
to provide the plant leaves the pubhc treasury. In the second, this item
appears from year to year as the plant which occasioned the outlay is con-
sumed or worn out. Again, the first statement includes only interest
payments actually made by the pubhc treasury on such portions of the
capital as remain unpaid, no account being taken of the annual interest
value of the remainder of the capital tied up in the enterprise. In con-
trast, the second statement contains an item representing annual interest
computed on aU the capital invested in the school system (which would
otherwise conceivably be available for other uses, pubhc or private) irre-
spective of whether the state secured this capital by loans or taxes. ' The
figures, classified according to this second viewpoint, are presented in
Table 3 under the caption of " Annual Accrued Economic Charge."
TABLE 3
PLANT COSTS OP PUBLIC EDUCATION, 1910-1921
B, Annual Accrued Economic Chabgb^
For Years Ending July 31
State and Local — Stale of New York
Ykab
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
Value of School Build-
ings AND Equipment
Worn Out dubino
Ykab
Imputed Intebest on the
Value of the Investmentj
IN School Sites, Builo-
INOS, AND EQmPMSNT
$3,204,549
3,338,240
3,612,369
3,661,166
3,917,698
4,199,055
4,343,951
4,569,057
4,721,635
4,895,058
5,390,739
6,127,870
S 7,055,610
7,294,067
8,018,566
8,046,804
8,702,347
9,464,338
9,216,550
10,239,667
10,854,441
10,555,635
12,773,052
13,509,079
Total
$10,260,159
10,632,307
11,630,935
11,707,970
12,620,045
13,663,393
13,560,501
14,808,724
15,576,076
15,450,693
18,163,791
19,636,949
City of New York Only
1910
1915
1920
1921
$1,567,891
2,059,267
2,327,800
2,524,455
$4,246,285
5,654,779
5,913,298
6,326,363
$5,814,176
7,714,046
8,241,098
8,850,818
» Or amount of money's worth actually used up.
36 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
A detailed explanation of the method by which the estimates of deprecia-
tion and imputed interest were made will be found in Chapter V, pages
82-88.^ The items are presented merely as approximations, but it is
believed that they are substantially accurate.
A comparison of Table 3 with Table 2 will make clear these significant
differences :
(1) The rate at which the school plant depreciated and became obsolete
is more regular than the rate at which new plant was added, but in every
year, even during the war, the community added to its school plant more
than it used up.
(2) The " imputed interest " shown in Table 3 is consistently larger in
amount than the cash disbursements for interest, because it is calculated
on the entire amount of capital used, whereas the "interest payments''
shown in Table 2 represent only the interest on borrowed portions of that
capital.*
(3) The annual accrued economic charge gives, of course, a more regular
rate of increase than the total cash disbursements ; but after all, the dif-
ferences in the aggregate are not very great.
Total Cost
By combining the figures of current expenses with the two types of
plant costs developed in the two preceding sections, comprehensive fig-
ures of total costs are obtained, truly representative of the aggregate burden
occasioned by the system of public education in the state. These totals
are presented in Table 4 and Diagram 3. It will be noted that these figures
include the costs of tax-supported education of all types, excepting only
the costs of state institutions for the blind, deaf, dumb, and otherwise de-
fective, and the costs of public libraries.
Because of the double method of measuring plant costs, two aggre-
gates are presented, each of which has its peculiar advantages in making
clear the situation. The column bearing the caption " Cash Disburse-
ments" is the sum of the current expenses shown on page 30, and the
"Cash Disbursements" from the Plant Costs Table on page 33.
Under the caption "Annual Accrued Economic Cost " appear figures ob-
tained by substituting the "annual accrued economic charge" figures from
page 35 in place of the " cash disbursements " figures as the measure of
plant costs.
The figures in Table 4 comprise the best statement which the Commis-
sion could prepare concerning the total costs of tax-supported public
education in the State of New York. To one who wishes to know how
» The attention of the reader is called particularly to the discussion of the appreciation in the value of
school sites and its significance in this connection.
« Interest payments would exceed imputed interest only if the outstanding obligations exceeded the
value of the school plant.
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS GROWTH 37
r
)
.4
38 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
much money has been paid out annually from the public treasury, the
first set of figures supplies a precise answer. To one who wishes to know
the true amount chargeable to each year on account of operation and
maintenance of the school system, together with the interest on the value
of the plant in use, the second set gives the closest available estimate.
TABLE 4
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, 1910-1922
Current Expenses plus Plant Costs
For Years Ending July 31
StcUe and Local — StaU of New York
Year
Cash Disbursements *
Annual Accrued Economic Cost
1910
$ 59,626,228
1911
62,283,177
1912
68,737,101
1913
72,039,243
1914
80,600,659
1915
84,841,675
1916*
80,118,748
1917
81,859,971
1918
89,799,439
1919
98,701,237
1920
117,344,153
1921
175.480,003
1922
196,034,409
S 57,781,217
60,103,138
66,311,561
68,138,081
75,334,690
80,645,982
81,108,974
83,390,886
91,834,475
100,306,122
119,559,662
167,752,459
180,311,167'
City of New York Only
1910
1915
1920
1921
1922
$35,056,835
48,667,740
59,504,145
97,577,140
104,658,125
$33,196,277
45,321,208
60,798,155
92,706,025
» These figures exclude transfers, refunds, payments on bonds, and temporary loans and payments to
siukmg funds and other governmental cost payments.
« The state's fiscal year was changed at this time so that certain of the state expenditures were for a
nine-month rather than a twelve-month period.
» An estimate for this figure was the only thmg possible at the time this table had to be closed For
this reason the corresponding items for the City of New York in Table 4 and for aU data on 1922 in Table
3 are omitted.
Considering first the cash disbursements, the table shows that during
the year 1921-1922 more than 196 miUion doUars of public money were
spent on schools in the state. The expense has nearly trebled in the dec-
ade since 1912. Most of the increase came in the single year 1921, when
58 millions were added, a sum shghtly larger than the total increase during
the entire preceding ten years. The cash payments by the City of New
r
)
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS GROWTH 39
York alone have increased from 35 millions in 1910 to nearly 105 millions
in 1922.
The total cash disbursements show a gradual and moderate increase
from 1910 to 1915. During the following two years, due to causes already
pointed out,^ those actual " out-of-pocket " expenditures fell below the
mark established in 1915 ; 1918 exceeded 1915 once more ; and the annual
increases have been large each year since.
Turning to the annual accrued economic cost,^ the figures show that in
1921 this item reached nearly 168 million dollars, the amount quoted in
the first paragraph of this chapter, and in 1922, 180 million dollars.
These figures compare with a cost of approximately 58 millions in 1910.
For the reasons suggested in preceding sections ' the figures show a fairly
even progression.
In the City of New York, the annual accrued economic cost of the public
schools is placed at approximately 93 millions in 1921 as compared with
33 miUions in 1910.
However measured, the outstanding fact is that the aggregate cost of
the tax-supported school system of the state has trebled in a period of
twelve years. This statement, however, should not be considered out of
relation to its background. The facts regarding the increase in school en-
rolment, the expansion of the educational program, the increased cost of
building materials and suppHes, and the increase in the cost of living with
its effect upon salaries and wages, should all be kept in mind. All together
they go far to explain the increase. No attempt is made in this chapter,
however, completely to explain or to justify it. The purpose here is pri-
marily to establish the facts regarding the extent of the increase.*
Total Costs of Schools of Different Grade
It is possible to segregate in a fairly satisfactory manner the total cash
disbursements (but not the annual accrued economic cost) in such a man-
ner as to show, separately, the aggregate costs of higher education, high
schools, elementary schools, and certain general costs of supervision.
Table 5 presents such figures for selected years. It should be borne in
mind that the figures as they appear in the table include capital outlay
and interest as well as current expenses.
Aggregate expenses for high schools have increased at a somewhat more
rapid pace than the expenses for elementary schools. Expenses for ele-
1 See pp. 29. 31.
* Strictly speaking, the term "annual accrued economic cost" is too broad to apply to the figures given
above. These figvires do not comprehend the entire cost of the system of public education, if the amounts
expended by individuals for subsistence during the period of training, and the loss to the community of the
economic efforts of the individuals being trained and directing the training, are to be considered as entering
into the cost. It is impossible, however, at present, to supply even approximate estimates of these costs.
* See p. 36. « See pp. 36-38.
40 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
mentary schools and high schools together amounted to 95.1 per cent of
the total cash payments in 1910 and to 95.9 per cent in 1922.
TABLE 5
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION (CASH DISBURSEMENTS)
CLASSIFIED BY TYPE OF ACTIVITY RECEIVING SUPPORT,
1910, 1915, 1920-1922
For Years Ending July 31
State and Local — State of New York
Elementary Schools * .
High Schools ^ . . .
Total Elementary
and High Schools
Normal Schools and
Colleges ....
Miscellaneous General
Costs 2
Total* . . . .
mo
$48,352,542
8,358,208
$56,710,750
1,491,874
1,423,604
1919
$66,447,939
14,069,678
lltO
$59,626,228
$80,517,617
2,979,159
1,344,899
$ 92,142,879
19,102,706
$84,841,675
$111,245,585
4,372,239
1,726,329
$117,344,153
IMl
$167,967,249
5,483,503
2,029,251
$175,480,003
IMS
$188,075,160
6,133,281
1,825,968
$196,034,409
City of New York Only
Elementary Schools * .
High Schools * . . .
Total Elementary
and High Schools
Normal Schools and
Colleges ....
Total' . . . .
$30,233,034
4,023,848
$34,256,882
799,953
$39,714,303
8,077,480
$35,056,835
$47,791,783
875,957
$49,091,682
9,330,349
$58,422,031
1,082,114
$48,667,740 $59,504,145
$95,860,100
1,717,040
$97,577,140
$102,036,355
2,621,770
$104,658,125
» It should be noted that the figures for high schools and elementary schools are consolidated in the school
reports under the caption of •'common schools." The separate figures as given in Table 5 for high schools
and elementary schools were calculated by applying the salary-ratio formula (see p. 42) to this total figure
for common schools." Consequently, although the sum of these two figures will be found to correspond
precisely with the total as given in the reports, the accuracy of the individual items is subject to the limita-
tions of the salary formula.
« The figures given under the caption " Miscellaneous General Costs" consist of the expenses of the State
Department of Education. These include the salaries of the district superintendents, which are paid directlv
by the state. They do not include the distinctively local and internal costs of administration It proved
impossible, owing to inadequate accounting, to segregate these. Subventions and expenditures for stote
institutions and Indian schools appear in the other categories. Finally, the figures do not include the ex-
penditures for the Panama-Pacific exposition and certain other similar expenditures. It should be noted
that these figures mclude capital outlay as well as current expenses, a fact which goes far to explain the
^« «tiVf^^' ^"^r ^ '^^ ^'^«»^«-y«*' period. During the first five years of the period an aggregate
of »3.853.708 was spent on capital outlay, which included the cost of the state education building atTbanvT
^.ZT ^^J^''^'^^ "^^'^ «"*»»y' interest, and current expenses but exclude transfers. refu^X
In the State of New York relatively little public money is devoted to the
support of education above the high school, but in the period under review
TOTAL COST OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS GROWTH 41
that support has increased at a somewhat more rapid rate than the support
of either elementary or high schools. This is true even though there has
been only a relatively sUght increase in the amounts spent by the institu-
tions of higher education in the City of New York as compared with the
up-state institutions.
To summarize: The examination of the aggregate figures shows that
the cost of the tax-supported pubUc school system of the state in 1922
was $196,034,409 on the " cash disbursement " basis. In 1921 the cor-
responding figure was $175,480,003. On the more precise " annual accrued
economic cost '' basis, the cost in 1921 was $167,752,459. In 1910 the
" cash disbursements" were only $59,626,228 and the "annual accrued
economic cost," only $57,781,217. In other words, the cost has approxi-
mately trebled since 1910. So far as it is possible to judge, current ex-
penses are likely to increase and capital charges are almost certain to in-
crease in the years immediately ahead. In 1920, the latest year for which
data are available, 78.5 per cent of the total cash disbursements went
directly to the support of the elementary schools. If present trends con-
tinue this percentage will decrease, and in the future high schools and higher
education will absorb a progressively larger part of the total disbursements.
CHAPTER IV
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED
The preceding chapter deals with aggregate figures for the public school
system — not only current expenses ^ but capital outlay and interest on
bonded indebtedness as well. This chapter presents a somewhat detailed
analysis of the current expenses only, and attempts to throw Ught on par-
ticular purposes for which money is spent and on variations in such ex-
penditures from conununity to conmiunity.*
It is obvious that an analysis of this kind is likely to raise many questions
which it does not answer. Definite conclusions often cannot be fairly
drawn without going behind the figures. But by merely stating the ques-
tion more precisely, such an analysis contributes toward the solution of
the problem, in that it substitutes specific queries for vague general com-
plaints. Instead of " Why do the schools cost so much? " the taxpayer
and the educator ask, " Why do current expenses of elementary schools in
one commimity cost in 1921 $272 per pupil in average daily attendance,
when in another conmiunity they cost only $26? Why did one commu-
nity pay $34 in current expenses to care for each pupil in its high school,
while another community spent $1132, or more than thirty times as much?
Why did kindergartens in one community cost $21 per pupil and in another
$113?" The figures are real ones.
The results of the cost analysis summarized in this chapter are to be
published in detail in two supplementary volumes. It is hoped that they
will stimulate those in control of pubUc schools in the various communities
studied to inquire concerning the quality of the educational service which
is being rendered, and the efficiency of the organization and administra-
tion of their schools.
The Salary-Ratio Formula. — A cost analysis such as that outlined
above is limited by the precision of the accounting system used as the
basis for school reports. In 1920 the State Department of Education called
for reports which distributed current expenses among kindergartens, ele-
mentary schools, high schools, teacher training schools, vocational schools,
1 It should be noted that current expenses are defined so as to include interest on temporary debt but
to exclude bond interest.
' This, of cotirse, does not constitute a complete cost analysis. It is simply the best analysis the Com«
mittee has fovmd it possible to make in the face of inadequate methods of public aeoounting, inherent dif-
ficulties of measiiring product in the field of education, and the impracticability of "»**f«"g elaborate field
studies in the various individual communities.
42
r
(
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 43
and special schools. It was hoped that these figures would supply the
exact information desired. Unfortunately, however, a careful check
showed that only 18 out of 10,376 school systems submitted reports of the
character prescribed. At the very outset, therefore, it was necessary to
resort to some form of estimate. It was necessary to develop a method
whereby current expenses for the difiFerent divisions of the school system
could be calculated from the general data available.
In the course of various attempts to find a rule which would satisfac-
torily distribute expenditures among the divisions of the school system it
was discovered that the amount of money spent for teachers* salaries bears
a close and constant relationship to total current expenses in each division
of the school system. This proved to be true both in the eighteen cities
in the State of New York for which data were available and in a group of
cities in the State of Pennsylvania from which similar data were secured.
Since the relation between teachers' salaries for a division, and current
expenses for that division is constant, and since both for the year 1920 and
for previous years, the salaries of teachers in the various divisions of the
school system of the State of New York — kindergarten, elementary,
secondary, and the like — were separately reported, it was possible to
adopt the procedure represented by the following formula :
Total current expenses multiplied by Elementary teachers' salaries
divided by Total teachers' salaries equals Total current expenses for
elementary schools.
Total current ^ Elementary teachers' salaries ^^^^^ ^^''®''* ^^'
= penses for elemen-
tary schools ^
expenses
X
Total teachers' salaries
Elementary School Costs
Current Expenses for Elementary Schools — General. — In the year
1921 « it cost in current expenses an average of $89 per pupil to operate
the elementary schools of the state. This figure is obtained by dividing
the total current expenses of elementary education by the total number of
« In the validation of the salary-ratio formula thirty-seven cities whose accounting permitted of the
segregation of costs by divisions of the school system were used. Per-pupU costs were found first by taking
the costs as mdicated by the records which were kept and the reports which were made. The same per-
pupil costs were then calculated by using the salary-ratio formula. The average of the recorded per-pupil
cost was $51.44. The average cost as determined by the salary-ratio calculations was $51.50. The cor-
relation between the real costs and the salary-ratio calculated costs gave a Pearson "r" of + 988± 003
The oorreUtion between the toUl (not per-pupil) cost figures is r = + .999±.0002. The partial correla^
tion betw^n th^ figures when average daily attendance in elementary schools is rendered constant is
r - -t- .g73± .006. The errors or deviations from the real cost in the calculated cost are compensating since
the salary-ratio costs were greater than the real costs in 19 cases, in 1 case the same, and in 17 cases less
It u important to note that the thirty-seven communities from which accurate accounting was available
. !^^Z^J^ comparing the real cost with the calculated cost ranged in population from 7 000
to nearly 300.000. The algebraic sum of the diflFerence for the thirty-seven school systems between the
real costs per pupil and the salary-ratio costs per pupil is $2.03. This is an average difference of 5*
cents or one-nmth of one per cent of the average cost per pupil.
• All figures in this chi4>ter are for years ending July 31.
44 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
children in average daily attendance. The variation in current expense in
the various divisions or administrative units is shown in the following table :
TABLE 6
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COSTS — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1920, 1921
Current Expenses per Pupil in
Average Daily Attendance
IttO
iiii
New York City alone
All cities
$61
54
54
53
61.74 1
$95
94
All villages over 4,500
All villages under 4,500
Rural schools
66
60
s
1 This figure was derived by securing data from the first numbered rural school (not a union free school)
district in each township in the state. The rural school survey, from a selection of all rural schools in 24
supervisory districts scattered over the entire state, found the median current expense per pupil. in average
daily attendance for this year to be S64.76. See Joint Committee on Rural Schools, " Rural School Survey
of New York State" (Ithaca, N. Y., 1922), Vol. I, p. 216.
*The labor involved in computing this figure for these schools with records unboimd at the time the
work would have had to be done precluded attempting to give the figure for this year. There are good
reasons for believing that it would have been closer to its 1920 figure than were the 1921 figiires for the
other groups to their 1920 figures.
Variations from City to City. — A more complete analysis of the varia-
tion in current expenses among the cities of the state is given in the follow-
ing table :
TABLE 7
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COSTS — CITIES — STATE OF NEW YORK,
1911, 1916, 1921
Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
/
( )
Cities
Ist-Class Cities *
Average ^ . .
High . . .
Low . . .
2d-Class Cities
Average ^ . .
High . . .
Low . . .
Sd-Class Cities
Average ^ . .
High . . .
Low . . .
1911
$39
45
35
$34
43
23
$32
64
17
1916
v49
51
48
$40
50
33
$36
65
24
19S1
$92
101
82
$79
98
60
$69
104
32
> First-class cities — over 175,000 population. All cases were used, 3 in number.
Second-class cities — 50,000 to 175,000 population. All cases were used, 7 in number.
Third-class cities — below 50,000 population. The number increased from 40 in 1911 to 49 in 1921.
All cases were used save in 1911. when one had to be omitted.
> This is the simple arithmetic average.
1
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 45
Costs in first-class cities tend to run higher than in smaller cities. For
the year 1921, for example, the average of first-class cities is $13 above that
of second-class cities and $23 above that of third-class cities. It is inter-
esting to note that the most expensive and the least expensive city in the
state, in each of the three years, were both cities of the third class.
Variations from Village to Village. — The current expenses of elemen-
tary schools in the larger villages were even more variable than among
the cities of the state. The facts appear in the table given below :
TABLE 8
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COSTS — VILLAGES OVER 4,500
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1911, 1916, 1921
Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
Average
High .
Low
1»11
$32
53
13
1916
$40
66
22
1911
$66
125
36
It will be observed that the village average for 1921 ($66) is considerably
lower than the city average for that year ($94). Although particular
instances are not lacking of villages which spent more than the most ex-
pensive city, no village of this size for 1921 had as low a cost as the least
expensive city. In 1911 and 1916 these rules are slightly less true. In
general, however, the figures show that the current expenses for elementary
schools have increased less rapidly in villages of over 4,500 population
than in the cities. In the villages, expenses have just doubled. In every
class of city they have more than doubled since 1911.
A similar variability is shown for villages under 4,500 population in
Table 9.
TABLE 9
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COSTS — VILLAGES HAVING LESS THAN
4,500 POPULATION AND MAINTAINING HIGH SCHOOLS
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921
Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
Union Schools
Average
High
Low .
One-Year
High School
$55
93
31
Two- Year
High School
$58
127
32
Three-Year
High School
$67
272
31
Four-Year
High School
$58
147
26
The average current expense in these communities, except in the case
of those maintaining the three-year high school course, is lower than for
46 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
the larger cities and villages of the state. On the other hand, the varia-
tion in current expense is greater. It appears that very high expenditures
are associated with provision in these villages for two or more years of
high school education. This may mean that the more ambitious commu-
nities, as measured by the provision which they make for high school edu-
cation, are also the communities which provide most adequately for their
elementary schools.
Current Expenses and Teachers' Salaries. — The increase in current
expense per pupil for elementary education has been due both to an in-
crease in the salaries of teachers and to increases in other current expenses.
Table 10 gives the expense per pupil for teachers' salaries and the total cur-
rent expenses per pupil in average daily attendance in elementary schools for
the years 1911 and 1921.
TABLE 10
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COSTS — CITIES AND VILLAGES OVER 4,500
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1911, 1921
Total Current Expenses Compared with Teachers* Salaries, per
Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
TiAcmnw' Sat-awitm*
Total Current
Percentaob
Increase
£XPKN8£8
Increase
Teachers'
Total Current
1911
IMl
IMl
1911
Sai<abies
Expenses
Low
Ist-Class Cities . .
S25
$53
$35
$82
112
134
2d-Class Cities . .
19
42
23
60
121
161
3d-Class Cities . .
11
23
17
32
109
88
Villages over 4,500
9
32 «
13
52 «
256
300
The Middle Case ^
Ist-Class Cities . .
$29
$64
$37
$ 95
121
157
2d-Class Cities . .
26
55
36
83
112
131
3d-Class Cities . .
20
41
30
67
105
123
Villages over 4,500 .
19
42*
32
66*
121
106
High
Ist-Class Cities . .
$36
$72
$45
$101
100
124
2d-Class Cities . .
34
64
43
98
88
128
3d-Class Cities . .
34
61
64
104
79
63
Villages over 4,500
30
65«
53
94«
117
77
^ As many cities rank above as below it, when compared as to the amounts they spend. The extreme
cases are reported as "low" and "high."
> The 1921 figures for villages are those obtained from the same 27 villages that determine the 1911
figures. Elsewhere in this report data are given for 58 villages.
Number of Cases Included in Table 10
Cities :
First-class 3
Second-class 7
Third-class 46-49
Villages over 4,500 27
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 47
/^
5
I
High
Lverage
5
High
erage
Low
High
erage
Low
High
erage
Low
High
erage
Low
High
erage
Low
High
erage
Low
High
erage
Low
>
>
>■
>
>
>-
>
"^
_^
<
-<
"<
<
-<
<
<
•
•
•
5.2
■S-S
5.2
5-5
•
•
•nS
•cS
•nS
.Ǥ
-•S
■fe-s
-fe-i
t^
1
« u
n u
00 O
B O
1
.1
S
5*
5S
•2 02
(52
1
i
9
O
s
1 .
1
>
n School
4- Year Hig
n School
3-Year Hig
n School
2-Year Hig
Q School
1-Year Hig
1
1
Unio
with
Unio
with
Unio
with
Unio
with
48 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 49
In eight out of twelve of the cases reported, total current expenses in-
creased more rapidly between 1911 and 1921 than teachers' salaries.
The facts relating to elementary school current expenses in 1921, as
presented in the foregoing tables, are sunmiarized in Diagram 4. The
figures indicate that in some of the schools the provision for the education
of children is rich, while in others it is meager indeed. If the wide varia-
tion in costs shown in the diagram indicates a corresponding variation in
educational advantages, the question at once arises as to whether this lat-
ter variation can be justified, or whether there is extravagance in some
cases and at the same time offerings below the "necessary minimum** of
educational opportunity in others.^
Some part of the variation in elementary school costs is undoubtedly
due to a variation in the efficiency and intelligence with which schools are
organized and administered. Some economies — the quantitative im-
portance of which cannot be estimated without a much more exhaustive
study — are doubtless attainable, and desirable. It should be noted,
however, that such a study may often result in recommending the pro-
vision of increased educational opportunity, and not always a reduction
of money needed.
Current Expenses in Elementary Schools by Grades and by Objec-
tives.— The salaries of teachers can be allocated with a fair degree of
accuracy to the grades in which they give instruction, and to the sev-
eral subjects taught, by assimiing that that part of a teacher's time
which is devoted to any grade, or to a particular subject, properly
represents the part of the salary which should be charged against that
grade or subject. In Hke manner, one can allocate the salaries of teachers
of special subjects and the supervisors of special subjects. The assump-
tion involved — that a teacher's time has a uniform value — is a reason-
able one.
The Method of Approach. — To secure the necessary facts with respect
to the salaries of teachers and the allotment of their time, a special report
was requested from the several cities of the state.^ A copy of the form,
as filled out by one of the cities, is printed as Table 11.
The grouping of subjects in Table 11 has reference to the general ob-
jectives sought in the elementary schools : *
» See p. 174.
• Complete returns were received from one out of three of the first-claas cities ; from four out of seven of
the second-class cities ; from thirty out of forty-nine of the third-class cities ; from forty out of forty-six of
the villages of over 4,500 population ; from two himdred twenty-two out of four hundred twenty-four union
school districts having four-year high schools ; from forty-two out of one hundred twelve union school dii»-
tricts having three-year high schools ; from fifteen out of thirty-four union school districts having two-year
high schools; from thirty out of forty-nine union school districts providing one-year high school work.
A larger number of superintendents and principals filled out the blanks, but many of the returns were re-
jected because they were incomplete or otherwise defective.
« For a definition of these objectives, see " Elementary School Costs in the State of New York," one of
the publications of the Educational Finance Inquiry Commission.
)
TABLE 11
A Sample Copy op Report Used as Basis for Distribution of Current
Expenses of Elementary Schools among Grades and Subjects
"tuJLC^
Return to Hiram C Gas*
Elementary Proiram— Public Schools— New York State Bduoation Dept-
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PILLBOOUT BV.
. SUFESlNTEt.- DENT
PUKCIPAL
English includes all phases of reading, writing, English composition,
speUing, grammar, Uterature, and the like.
Arithmetic.
The social studies include history, geography, government, civics, and
citizenship.
Health instruction includes hygiene, physiology, recess, and playground
activities.
50 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Elementary sciences include nature study, general science, biological
and physical sciences. '^
General ^dses are variously used for health instruction, for work in
the general field descnbed by the social studies, or for some other special
purpose •
The foreign languages,
how ^7* ^'^^^^ "'^ '"'''"'^^ '^'*'^°^' """''"' *"'' industrial and house-
fhpfif h -^ ^"^r "I *•"" ^^'' ^'^"'^ ^"""'^^ * ^'"^'''y of the date for
the fifth grade taken from the report of one city :
TABLE 12
SUMMABY OF DATA FOR THE FIFTH GRADE TAKEN FROM
THE SPECIAL REPORT OF ONE CITY
^^^^^^^^ STATE OF NEW YORK, 1922 '
Gtaa-ERAJj
Instruction
Subject
Minutes per week
devoted to each
objective by each
regular teacher
Special
Instbuction 1
English
Arithmetic ....
Social Studies . . .
Health Instruction
General Exercises . .
Fine and Practical Arts
Total ....
525
250
275
185
150
265
1650
Minutes per week
devoted to each
objective by all
teachers of spe-
cial subjects
Special
SuPEBViaiON 1
Total of All
Regular
Teachers
1677
1500
5875
21244
30296
Minutes per week
devoted to each
objective by all
supervisors of
special subjects
Salaries
Average Daily Attendance .
$189,079.18
3259
Total op All
Teachers op
Spkcial Subjects
187
188
534
1076
1985
S44,080.88
3259
Total of All
Supervisors op
Special SimjECTs
$2,839.95
3259
» The contrast in number of minutes per we^k rA««r*o^ u .
special subjects or supervisors of special subject Z^uTt f h ^ Tl '^^'*' *^''"*^^" """^ '^^'^J^*" «'
program is given in the case of one^gula^ Sr wtue ^1 of tl" • '. " *'^"'*' "'^ '^'^^ ^'^'^^^^r*-
grades of the city by several special teacherHr su^^i^r! f "»« devoted to the work of the fifth
columns two and three. It iarbvio^tratX ^'^Z^' '^^ """^'T " "''"^"* '° **^« -«>«* -
uted among the several subjects upon the b^is o hT si^.l! Th T "^^"" ***"*'"" " P'^P^''^ ^^^'^^
the case of the teachers of special subjec^and sur^ J, ' ' f "f ""'t *'^"° '"' °"« '««"'" '^^''her. In
was determmed by taking ^^u^^:7^^:Z^^Vjl^it TT *'^ *"^' ^'"«« '^' *»»« ^^^^
r
)
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 51
this is the average daily attendance for the fifth grade, 3,259 pupils. Di-
viding the total expenditure for salaries by the average daily attendance
gives $58.02, which is the per-pupil cost of services of regular classroom
teachers for a year. This cost is subdivided into subject costs on the
basis of time devoted to the various subjects by the regular fifth grade
teachers. The total time scheduled for all subjects is 1,650 minutes. The
cost per minute of instruction is, therefore, $58.02 divided by 1,650, which
equals $.035163. This quotient of 3^ cents is then multipHed successively
by the number of minutes devoted to each subject, which gives the fifth
grade per-pupil expenditures in terms of the salaries of regular teachers.
The calculation is as follows :
.035163 X 525 = $18.46
.035163 X 250 = 8.79
.035163 X 275 = 9.67
.035163 X 185 = 6.51
.035163 X 265 = 9.32
.035163 X 150 = 5.27
Total = $58.02
English
Arithmetic
Social studies
Health
Fine and practical arts
Greneral exercises
Per-pupil cost for regular fifth grade teaching
It should be noted that all the subject-cost figures on elementary
schools are only translations of the teacher's time schedule into dollars.
These figures measure in money terms the relative weight given to differ-
ent subjects, and to a slight extent the number of children per teacher.
The costs of the subjects will vary as the time devoted to them varies.
Reducing the time for a subject and assigning that time to a second sub-
ject will reduce the cost of the first subject but not the cost of the grade.
The total cost of the grade to the district can be reduced only by reduc-
ing the salary of the regular teacher or of the special teacher for that
subject. Per-pupil costs per grade or subject will of course be reduced by
any increase in the number of pupils per teacher of such grade or subject.
In Uke manner, the expenditure per pupil for the teachers of special
subjects and for the supervisors of special subjects is calculated. The
calculations for one city, showing costs by grades and by subjects in
terms of the work of classroom teachers, teachers of special subjects, and
supervisors of special subjects appear in the following Table 13.
Table 13 is to be read as follows : Of the salaries of regular classroom
teachers chargeable against the first grade, the per-pupil charge for EngUsh
was $34.43; for health instruction $4.52; for general exercises $3.48;
for fine and practical arts $9.74. The total expense for the regular teach-
ers' salaries per pupil was $52.17.
In like manner, the sum per pupil chargeable against this grade for
teachers of special subjects is allocated as follows : English, $.36 ; health
instruction, $.10; fine and practical arts, $.14; the total for teachers of
special subjects, $.60 per pupil. For the supervisors of special subjects,
52 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
2 1^ g
)
^»
i
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 53
the amounts per pupil chargeable against this grade are allocated as fol-
lows: English, $.09; arithmetic, $.09; health instruction, $.18; fine and
practical arts, $.43 ; the total for supervisors of special subjects, $.79 per
pupil ; the grand total of the salary charge per pupil for this grade is $53.56.
Salary Costs of Regular Teachers by Grades and by Objectives. — The
variation in expenses incurred for the salaries of teachers by grades and
by objectives is indicated in Table 14.
TABLE 14
CURRENT EXPENSES — ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS — CERTAIN THIRD-
CLASS CITIES, VILLAGES OVER 4,500, AND UNION SCHOOL
DISTRICTS — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921-1922
Salaries op Regular Teachers by Grades and by Subjects
(The Figures Give the Limits within Which the Middle Fifty Per Cent * of the Cases
Fall, Calculated to the Nearest Whole Dollar per Pupil in Average Daily At-
tendance)
Third-
ClA.88
Cities
Villages
OVER
4,500
Four-
Year
Union
Three-
Year
Union
One-
Year
Union
English
Grade Two .
Grade Five .
Grade Eight .
$19-23
11-19
14r-25
$16-26
12-17
9-17
$16-23
12-19
13-25
$15-32
11-29
13-38
$18-26
13-34
13-40
Arithmetic
Grade Two
Grade Five
Grade Eight .
4-6
6-11
5-8
6-8
7-10
5-8
5-9
7-14
5-11
5-13
7-21
5-9
6-12
10-18
Social Studies
Grade Two .
Grade Five
Grade Eight .
1-2
7-9
&-11
1-2
6-10
6-12
1-3
6-10
7-15
1-2
6-14
9-18
1-3
6-17
10-17
Health
Grade Two . .
Grade Five . .
Grade Eight . .
4-7
4-6
3-7
3-8
3-5
2-^
3-7
3-5
2-6
3-6
3-6
3-8
2-6
3-7
3-7
Elementary
Science
Grade Two . .
Grade Five . .
Grade Eight . .
1-1
.4-1
1-6
1-1
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-3
1-2
1-3
2-4
.4-1
1-2
1-3
General
Exercises
Grade Two . .
Grade Five . .
Grade Eight . .
1-2
1-2
1-3
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-2
1-4
1-3
1-3
1-4
1-3
1-3
1-4
Fine and
Practical
Arts
Grade Two . .
Grade Five . .
Grade Eight . .
3-5
3-5
4-8
2-4
2-4
2-6
1-3
1-3
2-5
1-2
1-2
2-5
1-3
1-2
1-4
Total
Grade Two . .
Grade Five . .
Grade Eight . .
34-47
36-^
43-58
32-46
31-43
35-47
31-45
31-46
35-64
28-60
32-62
33-94
31-50
33-75
44^100
» The middle fifty per cent is found by cutting off the lowest and highest quarters of the distribution.
The remaining two quarters — or fifty per cent — is composed only of cases which cluster around the center.
Im
64 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The first line of the table is to be read as follows : In third-class cities,
the amount of regular teachers' salaries spent for teaching EngUsh in the
second grade, ranges from $19 to $23 for the middle fifty per cent of the
cases. One-fourth of these cities show an expense of less than $19, and
one-fourth an expense of more than $23. In Uke manner, the salary charge
for teaching EngHsh in grade two, in viDages with a population of more than
4,500, ranges from $16 to $26 ; in union free school districts maintaining a
four-year high school, from $16 to $23 ; in union free school districts main-
taining a three-year high school, from $15 to $32; and in union free
school districts maintaining a one-year high school, from $18 to $26. In
each case the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall within the limits re-
corded. The calculation in every case is to the nearest whole dollar.
These variations in expenditures are due not only to differences in sal-
aries paid to teachers, but even more particularly to variations in the time
allotted to the teaching of the several subjects of the elementary school
curriculum. The omission of one or more of these subjects would not or-
dinarily change the total expenditure for salaries of regular teachers for
the grade, since the salaries would not be diminished by the omission of
any one of the subjects.
The total salary charge tends to increase from the lower grades to the
upper. This is due partly to a tendency to place the better trained and
more mature teachers in the upper grades and partly to the fact that the
average daily attendance per teacher tends to be somewhat smaller in the
upper grades than in the lower.^
The variation in the amount of salary charged against the several grades
and subjects is given somewhat more fully in terms of a single measure in
Table 15. The measure used is the middle case, and the calculation is to
the nearest whole dollar. This means that in each case one-half of the
cities reporting had a higher charge per grade or per subject than that re-
corded and one-half had a lower charge. These figures are more significant
for the third-class cities, villages, and union free school districts than for the
first and second-class cities, since more reports were received from these
smaller communities.
The variation in costs in Table 15 is merely another way of expressing
the variation in time aUotted to the several subjects. The assumption is
that a teacher's time is equally valuable at any hour of the day, and when
used for the teaching of any one of the subjects of the curriculum. From
the figures in Table 15 it appears that the cost of teaching English is some-
what higher in the lower grades than in the upper. This is due to the fact
that reading, writing, and spelling occupy more time in the lower grades
than do hterature, grammar, and composition in the upper grades. In
» It was found that teachers' salaries for any given grade were approximately uniform in the different
commiinitiea throughout the state.
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 55
TABLE 15
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COSTS — CITIES. VILLAGES OVER 4.500. AND UNION SCHOOL
DISTRICTS — STATE OF NEW YORK. 1921-1922
CuRBKNT Expenses (Middle Case) foh Salaries of Requlab Tbachess by Grades and bt
Subjects, per Pupil in Average Dailt Attendance
;
Vi
Grade
English "l""'""
METIC
Social
Studies
Health
Elemen
TART
Science
Gen-
eral
Exer-
Fine
AND
Prac.
Total
cises
Arts
1
$34
$_
»_
$5
S—
S3
SIO
S52
2
36
9
—
5
5
8
62
First-Class
3
4
30
20
8
9
2
9
6
7
— •
4
5
8
9
58
59
58
Cities
5
18
9
10
7
^-m»
5
if
9
6
19
9
10
7
— —
5
- 10
60
7
20
10
14
7
—
5
9
65
8
22
10
10
8
—
6
12
68
1
30
4
1
8
1
3
6
49
2
29
6
1
9
2
2
6
49
Seoond-CIass
Cities
3
4
5
24
20
19
8
9
9
4
8
8
8
7
7
3
2
2
2
2
2
6
4
4
49
47
47
6
18
10
10
6
1
2
6
47
7
20
10
11
7
1
1
6
^9
47
8
23
9
9
6
1
2
7
52
1
25
4
1
5
1
2
4
41
2
22
5
1
4
1
1
4
40
Third-Class
Cities
3
4
5
19
15
15
6
6
6
3
6
7
5
5
5
1
1
1
2
1
1
4
4
4
41
41
39
6
15
8
9
5
1
1
5
44
7
14
8
8
5
1
2
5
45
8
16
9
8
5
2
2
6
49
1
20
6
1
5
1
2
3
41
2
21
6
1
5
1
2
3
41
VUUges
over 4,500
3
4
5
18
17
15
7
7
7
3
6
8
5
4
4
1
1
1
2
2
1
3
3
3
41
39
40
6
14
8
10
4
1
1
3
40
7
14
8
11
4
1
1
4
42
8
14
9
10
5
1
1
4
40
1
20
5
1
4
1
2
2
35
Union School
2
3
22
17
5
7
3
4
4
4
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
37
36
Districts
4
16
6
5
4
Four-Year
5
15
7
8
4
35
37
6
14
7
9
4
1
1
2
**•
37
7
16
8
10
4
1
2
2
%99
42
8
17
9
10
4
2
2
3
46
1
21
6
2
3
1
3
2
35
2
23
8
2
4
1
2
2
39
Thiee-Year
3
4
18
21
8
8
5
6
4
4
1
1
2
2
1
2
38
46
6
20
8
8
4
2
2
2
50
6
16
8
12
3
1
2
1
42
7
18
11
12
4
2
2
2
48
8
17
11
12
5
3
2
3
47
1
23
6
1
4
1
2
1
41
2
17
6
2
6
1
2
2
39
Two-Year
••
3
4
16
16
6
7
4
7
4
4
1
1
2
2
1
1
38
40
5
18
10
9
6
1
2
2
48
6
18
9
8
5
2
2
2
43
7
15
12
9
6
2
2
2
63
8
15
12
8
6
2
2
2
46
1
22
4
1
4
1
1
35
2
25
8
1
4
2
1
40
One-Year
3
4
18
22
7
9
4
5
4
4
2
2
1
2
36
41
5
23
7
10
4
2
2
43
6
15
8
9
4
1
1
37
7
18
12
12
4
2
3
3
54
»
22
16
12
4
2
2
1
54
I
56 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
like manner, there is a tendency to give more time to arithmetic and thereby
to raise the cost of its teaching from the fifth grade on. History and geog-
raphy are ordinarily emphasized from the fourth through the eighth grade,
with a stronger tendency to emphasize these and other social studies in
the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Health instruction and physical
education run rather evenly in cost. Apparently the time used in giving
such instruction is about the same in all of the grades of the elementary
school. Elementary science and general exercises follow the same rule.
As indicated by larger costs the fine and practical arts show some tendency
toward emphasis in the upper grades, in third-class cities, and in villages
of over 4,500. In all of the communities and in all grades the time and money
devoted to the so-called fundamentals — English, arithmetic, and the social
studies — is u^sually twoAhirds or more of the total.
In the data for individual communities, which it is impossible to
present here, very great departures from these figures, indicating central
tendencies, are found. Such variations suggest the desirabiUty of scru-
tinizing carefully the time allotted to the various subjects of the curriculum
in relation to the results which are secured.
Aggregate Salary Costs of Teaching and Supervision per Pupil in Eight
Elementary Grades. — In many of the school systems of the state special
teachers who devote their time to some one subject such as music, drawing,
manual training, cooking, and the hke, supplement the work of the regular
classroom teachers. In other systems, persons called supervisors of special
subjects teach these special subjects, and are in some degree responsible
for the training and direction of the regular classroom teacher in the fields
in which she is least well equipped. There are also supervisors or direc-
tors of the work done by special teachers. An inquiry concerning the cost
of this type of service was instituted. The cost by subjects and by grades,
as well as by communities of various sizes, was determined. One gets a
fairly adequate picture of the situation from the table on opposite page.
The first line of Table 16 is to be read as follows : In one of the first-class
cities referred to, the total charge for the salaries of regular teachers in all
eight grades is $481 per pupil. In hke manner, the salary charge for the
teachers of special subjects is $72, and for supervisors of special subjects $7.
The second section of the table is to be read as follows : In four of the
second-class cities, the highest city expenditure for salaries is $514 ; the
average is $413 ; and the lowest is $359. These figures all refer to the
total expenditure, for the salaries of regular teachers, for the grades one to
eight inclusive.
For these same cities the highest charge for the salaries of teachers of
special subjects is $49 ; the average $20 ; and the lowest $17. The highest
charge on account of salaries of supervisors of special subjects is $50 ; the
average $17 ; and the lowest $8
^
y
\
;
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 57
TABLE 16
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COSTS - CITIES, VILLAGES OVER 4,500, AND
UNION SCHOOL DISTRICTS— STATE OF NEW YORK, 1922
Aggregate Salaby Costs, per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance, of Regulab
Teachers, Teachers of Special Subjects, and Supervisors, for the
Whole Elementary School Period, Grades One to Eight Inclusive,
Calculated to the Nearest Whole Dollar
Grades 1-8
REOXniAR
Teachers
Teachers of
Special Subjects
Supervisors op
Special Subjects
Grand
TOTAI.
HIQH MIDDLE LOW
CASE
HIGH MIDDLE LOW
CASE
HIGH middle low
CASE
HIGH MIDDLE LOW
CASE
First-Class Cities
(1 case)
$481.
$72.
$7.
$561.
Second-Class Cities
(4 cases)
514.
413.1
359.
49.
20.1
17.
50.
17.»
8.
542.
447.1
359.
Third-Class Cities
(30 cases)
472.
323.
147.
140.
31.
15.
44.
18.
4.
540.
356.
225.
Villages over 4,500
Popnlation
(40 cases)
449.
303.
223.
134.
32.
16.
65.
23.
.73
449.
355.
223.
4-Year Union
Schools
(222 cases)
926.
305.
130.
None
None
926.
305.
130.
3-Year Union
Schools
(42 cases)
976.
365.
173.
None
None
976.
365.
173.
2- Year Union
Schools
(15 cases)
718.
381.
119.
None
None
718.
381.
119.
1-Year Union
Schools
(30 cases)
680.
305.
185.
None
None
680.
305.
185.
* Average.
It is not possible from these figures to find the total amount to be charged
per pupil on account of teachers of special subjects and supervisors of
special subjects. There is only one city reporting regular teachers, teach-
ers of special subjects, and supervisors of special subjects in the field of
practical arts. In two cases only are regular teachers and teachers of
58 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
special subjects employed ; while in one of the four cases above referred
to no charge is made for special teachers or supervisors of special subjects
for the fine and practical arts. These figures are then to be interpreted
as giving the charge for this particular type of service wherever it may be
found, but it will be necessary to guard against the assumption that both
types of service are found in each of the cities.
Less than half of the cities of the third class report special teachers and
supervisors of special subjects in any one of the subjects of the elementary
school curriculum. These figures, and those for villages as well, indicate
the amount of the charge for the city spending the largest amount of
money, for the middle case, and for the city spending the smallest amount
of money, where only those cities employing this particular type of ser-
vice are included. It is, therefore, not possible to add the two charges,
teachers of special subjects and supervisors of special subjects, and to ar-
rive from such addition at a total charge for services of special teachers and
supervisors.
It will be observed from the table that m union free school districts
maintaining three-year high schools and in union free school districts
maintaining two-year high schools, the middle case expenditures for sal-
aries of regular teachers in elementary grades are relatively high — higher
in fact than the corresponding charge in all divisions except first- and sec-
ond-class cities.
In further explanation of Table 16 it is necessary to call attention to the
fact that "supervisors of special subjects" are in some school systems
actually special teachers, and that " special teachers " may in some cases
do certain supervisory work.
The summary reported above, and the more detailed facts upon which
this compilation is based, seem to indicate the desirabihty of inquiring
further into the cost and service rendered by special teachers and by su-
pervisors of special subjects.
Kindergarten Costs
An inquiry was instituted concerning the cost of kindergartens for the
years 1920 and 1921. Prior to these years the State Department of Edu-
cation did not call for a segregation of kindergarten salaries and pupils
from those of the eight grades of the elementary school. Even in 1920
and 1921 many of the reports failed to make separate returns for kinder-
gartens. The fact that these classes are conducted in the same building
side by side with the lower grades of the elementary school, and under very
much the same general conditions, probably leads many school executives
to include them in their elementary school reports. A wide variation in city
kindergarten costs is indicated in Table 17.
r
)
A
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 59
TABLE 17
KINDERGARTEN COSTS — CITIES — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1920, 1921
Total Current Expenses, Teachers' Salaries, and Current Expenses Otheb
THAN Teachers' Salaries per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
(Note: Arrows indicate middle case in the group and the middle case in the
upper and lower half of the group)
Total Cuhhent Expenses
CITIl
Firat-Claas
Buffalo
Rochester
SecondrCUus
Albany
Sjrracuse
Troy
Yonkers
Third-Class
Olean
N. Tonawanda
Cohoes
Oneonta
New Rochelle
Mount Vernon
Canandaigua
Geneva
Watertown
Rensselaer
Oswego
Tonawanda
Niagara Falls
Elmira
Lockport
Saratoga Springs
Port Jervis
Glens Falls
Amsterdam
Poughkeepsie
Jamestown
Little Falls
Dunkirk
Lackawanna
Watervliet
Rome
Hudson
1919-19t0
BAinC AMOUNT
1 $ 75
2 61
1
2
3
4
77
70
69
66
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
151
95
88
84
83
78
->-75
67
64
63
63
62
61
■^58
58
56
54
51
51
49
CITIHB
21 -M8
22 45
23
24
26
27
44
42
41
40
33
Firat-Class
Buffalo
Rochester
Second-Class
Yonkers
Albany
Schenectady
Sjrracuse
Utica
Third-Class
White Plains
New Rochelle
Mount Vernon
Cohoes
Elmira
Olean
Mechanicville
Oneonta
N. Tonawanda
Saratoga Springs
Cortland
Oswego
Auburn
Port Jervis
Canandaigua
Watervliet
Tonawanda
Lackawanna
Amsterdam
Watertown
Geneva
Hudson
Lockport
Jamestown
Little Falls
Rome
Poughkeepsie
Dunkirk
ItSO-ltSl
SANK AMOUNT
1 $110
2 81
I
2 79
3 ->-71
4 48
5 46
1
113
2
111
3
104
4
97
5
96
6
92
7
8
.86
83
9
82
10
81
11
80
12
80
13
76
14
15
^73
16
71
17
70
18
69
19
67
20
67
21
22
.66
62
23
60
24
60
25
59
26
59
27
56
28
21
60 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE 17 (Cantinved)
KINDERGARTEN COSTS - CITIES - STATE OF NEW YORK, 1920, 1921
Total Current Expenses, Teachers' Salaries, and Current Expenses Other
THAN Teachers' Salaries per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
(Note : Arrows indicate middle case in the group and the middle case in the
upper and lower half of the group)
Teachebs' Salaries
CITIES
First-Class
Buffalo
Rochester
Second-Class
Albany
Yonkers
Syracuse
Troy
Third-Class
Olean
New Rochelle
Cohoes
Mount Vernon
N. Tonawanda
Canandaigua
Elmira
Oneonta
Rensselaer
Oswego
Geneva
Saratoga Springs
Niagara Falls
Watertown
Tonawanda
Glens Falls
Port Jervis
Lockport
Jamestown
Poughkeepsie
Amsterdam
Dunkirk
Watervliet
Rome
Little Falls
Lackawanna
Hudson
1919-ittO
RANK AMOUNT
1 $46
2 39
1
2
3
4
45
43
"43
42
CITIES
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
10
11
12
13
87
51
50
48
48
47
->-39
39
38
38
36
35
35
14 ^^4
15 33
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
33
32
32
29
28
-27
27
26
26
25
24
23
First-Class
Buffalo
Rochester
Second-Class
Yonkers
Albany
Schenectady
Syracuse
Utica
Third-Class
White Plains
Elmira
New Rochelle
Mount Vernon
Mechanicville
Cohoes
Auburn
Cortland
Saratoga Springs
Canandaigua
Watervliet
Geneva
Olean
Oswego
Port Jervis
Amsterdam
Tonawanda
N. Tonawanda
Lackawanna
Rome
Watertown
Hudson
Oneonta
Lockport
Jamestown
Poughkeepsie
Little Falls
Dunkirk
IfSO-lMl
RANK AMOUNT
1
2
S70
52
1
59
2
52
3
^-48
4
34
5
32
1
72
2
67
3
66
4
65
5
55
6
55
7
8
_^53
"^52
9
49
10
49
11
49
12
47
13
46
14
15
45
■^44
16
42
17
42
13
42
19
41
20
39
21
22
39
■*'39
33
37
34
36
35
35
26
35
27
32
28
14
)
4
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 61
TABLE 17 (Concluded)
KINDERGARTEN COSTS - CITIES - STATE OF NEW YORK, 1920, 1921
Total Current Expenses, Teachers' Salaries, and Current Expenses Other
THAN Teachers' Salaries per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
(Note : Arrows indicate middle case in the group and the middle case in the
upper and lower half of the group)
CuBBENT Expenses Other than Teachebs' Salabies
CITIES
First-Class
Buffalo
Rochester
Second-Class
Albany
Troy
Syracuse
Yonkers
Third-Class
Olean
N. Tonawanda
Oneonta
Cohoes
Geneva
New Rochelle
Watertown
Mount Vernon
Tonawanda
Canandaigua
Lockport
Niagara Falls
Rensselaer
Oswego
Amsterdam
Port Jervis
Poughkeepsie
Little Falls
Saratoga Springs
Elmira
Jamestown
Glens Falls
Lackawanna
Dunkirk
Watervliet
Rome
Hudson
in»-i9io
BANK AMOUNT
1
2
$29
22
1
2
3
4
32
27
^27
23
CITIES
1
64
2
47
3
45
4
38
5
31
6
32
7
-^1
8
29
0
29
10
28
11
26
12
26
13
25
14
-►25
15
23
16
21
17
21
18
21
19
21
20
20
21
->-19
22
19
23
18
24
17
25
15
26
15
27
10
First-Class
Buffalo
Rochester
Second-Class
Yonkers
Albany
Schenectady
Syracuse
Utica
Third-Class
Olean
Oneonta
New Rochelle
Cohoes
White Plains
N. Tonawanda
Mount Vernon
Oswego
Saratoga Springs
Port Jervis
Mechanicville
Elmira
Lackawanna
Tonawanda
Cortland
Watertown
Little Falls
Amsterdam
Canandaigua
Jamestown
Lockport
Auburn
Hudson
Watervliet
Poughkeepsie
Rome
Geneva
Dunkirk
IMO-lttl
BANK AMOITNT
1
2
29
1
29
2
27
3
^23
4
15
5
14
1
46
2
46
3
45
4
42
5
41
6
40
7
8
^39
^34
9
32
10
31
11
31
12
29
13
28
14
15
^28
^28
16
27
17
27
18
25
19
25
2(1
25
21
22
^23
23
23
24
23
25
22
26
20
27
19
28
8
62 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The data in the table relate to cities only. Corresponding figures for
villages show an even more marked variation, the expenditure per pupil
ranging from $21 to $141 in 1920, and from $18 to $372 in 1921. The
figures suggest desirability of inquiring into the size of classes and the
length of the kindergarten day. Some kkidergartens were apparently
operated with an average daily attendance so small as to entail a per-pupil
cost that is difficult to defend. On the other hand, the average daily
attendance was so large in some cases as to indicate either that two half-
day sessions were held, or that the teacher was given an unusually heavy
load. In these cases, of course, the per-pupil costs were correspond-
ingly low. It does not seem probable , however, that the variation in ex-
penditure can correspond to a variation in the educational opportunity
provided or the results secured.
Current Expenses for High Schools
The current expense for high schools, per pupil in average daily attendance,
is calculated by using the formula already explained, on page 43. The
relation of high school salaries to salaries for the whole school system
is used to determine what part of the other non-salary current expenses
should be charged to high schools. For example, if high school salaries
amount to one-fourth of the total salaries paid by the school system, then
one-fourth of all of the other current expenses are charged against high
schools. Increases in the current expenses for high schools from 1911 to
1921 appear in Table 18.
Table 18 is to be read as follows : In first-class cities the average current
expense for high schools is $89 in 1911 ; $100 in 1916 ; and $183 in 1921.
The table shows that current expenses for high schools have approximately
doubled during the ten-year period in the cities of the state. The average
increase for villages of over 4,500 in population is 60 per cent. In the
smaller communities of the state, providing from one to four years of high
school education, the expenses for high schools are in the extreme cases
higher than any of those reported for the cities or larger villages. For
the year 1921, in these union school districts, the high cases showed ex-
penses per pupil in average daily attendance as follows : The four-year
union schools $1,107; three-year union schools $1,132; two-year union
schools $781 ; and one-year union schools $773.
The variation in high school costs is indicated on Diagram 5.
An analysis of expenses in the union school districts shows that these
very high costs are due both to the expenses for teachers' salaries and to
other current expenses. These small schools have in many cases very small
classes. In the communities showing the highest expense, the charge
for salaries of teachers ranges from $520 to $603 per pupil in average daily
attendance. In these same communities the current expense, other than
)
A
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 63
salary, ranges from $243 to $786 per pupil in average daily attendance
An analysis of increases in expenses for high schools as between expenses
for teachers' salaries and total current expenses appears in Table 19.
TABLE 18
HIGH SCHOOL COSTS -CITIES, VILLAGES OVER 4,500, AND UNION
SCHOOLS -STATE OF NEW YORK, 1911, igiG, 1921
Current Expenses per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
First-lass Cities
Average . .
High . . .
Low . . .
Second-Class Cities
Average . . .
High ... .
Low . . . ,
Third-Class Cities
Average . . .
High ... .
Low . . . .
Villages over 4,500
Average . . .
High . . . .
Low . . . .
Union Schools *
Four-Year
Average . .
High . . .
Low ....
Three-Year
Average . .
High . . .
Low ....
TiDo-Year
Average . .
High . . .
Low . . .
One- Year
Average . .
High . . .
Low ....
1107
41
199
1132
34
246
781
88
252
773
63
» The figures for Union Schools were available only for the years 1920 and 1921.
Table 19 is to be read as foUows : Among the first-cla^ cities, the one
T^Lr T^^^ ''''^^ ^^""^ ^^ P^"* P"P^^ ^^^ teachers' salaries in 1911
{!rli ?^/7 """^"^ ^^ ^^^^- ^^ ^^' ^^^ ^«"P *^« '^y leaving the
W^t totel current expense per pupil in average daily attendance spent
$60 in 1911, and $161 in 1921. The per cent increase in teachers' salves
I
64 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
!f
oi-
S
&
- .2 «
S ^ .2
o
ED S
So
OB
et
o
I
H
« o
m ^^
M at
es «
= >^
ass
§ g 8
ji ja M
OOP
CQ IC Cfi
a a d
o o o
a
a
hi
d
V
I
a
I
W N ^
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 65
)
between 1911 and 1921 was 142, while the increase in total current ex-
penses was 168 per cent.
TABLE 19
HIGH SCHOOL COSTS — CITIES AND VILLAGES OVER 4,500 — STATE
OF NEW YORK, 1911, 1921
Total Current Expenses Compared with Teachers' Salaries, per Pupil in
Average Daily Attendance
Teachers
Salaries
Total Current Ex-
penses
Percentage
Increase
Teachers'
Salaries
Percentage
Increase
Total
Ccrrent
Expenses
■
1910-1911
1990-1991
1910-1911
1990-1991
Low
Ist-CIass Cities . .
$43
$104
$60
$161
142
168
2d-Class Cities . .
36
77
45
114
114
153
3d-Class Cities . .
24
38
36
68
58
87
Villages over 4,500 .
26
43
39
76
65
95
Middle Case
•
Ist-Class Cities . .
64
132
82
175
106
113
2d-Class Cities . .
51
87 ■
66
130
71
97
3d-Class Cities . .
41
70
59
113
71
92
Villages over 4,500 .
45
84
77
125
87
62
High
Ist-Class Cities . .
101
134
124
212
33
71
2d-Class Cities . .
72
109
93
165
51
77
3d-Class Cities . .
77
196
131
332
155
153
Villages over 4,500 .
137
163
209
268
19
28
Number of Cases
Ist-Class Cities . .
3
3
2d-Class Cities . .
7
7
•
3d-Class Cities . .
38
49
Villages over 4,500 .
27
56
The table shows that in most of the cases teachers* salaries increased less
rapidly than all current expenses. The same conditions which called for
the increases in teachers' salaries apparently increased the cost of the other
services and supplies used in high schools.
The wide variation in current expenses of high schools suggests the
advisabihty of careful inquiry, not only as to the excessive costs found
in some of the smaller communities, but also as to the quahty of the
opportunities provided in those schools showing the lowest cost. It is
also reasonable to ask whether the educational faciUties furnished by
the expensive schools could be obtained at a more reasonable cost.
There would seem to be some possibihty of effecting economy through
consolidation.
Some light is thrown upon the variation in the expenses for high schools
by an analysis of the expense involved in teaching various subjects.
66 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
In many ca^es the expense per pupU in average daHy attendance is par-
tiaUy explained by the teaching of certain subjects in which very few pupils
are enrolled. Table 20 shows some of the variations which occur.
TABLE 20
HIGH SCHOOL COSTS - CITIES, VILLAGES OVER 4,500, AND UNION
SCHOOL DISTRICTS-STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921-1922
Salaries op Regular High School Teachers by Subject and Year of
Course,* per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance
Sttbjbcts
1. English . . . . ,
2. English
3. Latin
4. Latin
6. French
6. French
7. Elementary Algebra
8. Solid Geometry . . .
9. History
10. History
11. Chemistry
12. Physics
13. Home Economics . .
14. Home Economics . .
15. Elementary Drawing .
16. Intermediate Drawing .
17. Bookkeeping . . . .
18. Stenography . . . .
19. Stenography . . . .
Ykar
IN
High
School
All Cities
Middle
Case
I
IV
I
IV
I
III
A
C
I
III
I
I
II
Limits with-
in Which
Middle
50% of
Cases Fall
VlLLAOBS OYKB 4,500
$11
14
14
36
15
20
14
22
12
14
22
20
23
25
14
20
17
17
26
I 6-16
9-19
11-18
24-56
12-18
15-27
11-17
1^32
6-18
10-17
11-29
13-28
13-30
15-38
8-18
14-30
12-23
13-29
18-35
Mid-
dle
Case
$8
15
13
40
15
27
13
40
8
14
22
25
18
18
12
17
17
19
22
Limits with'
in Which
Middle
50% of
Cases Fall
4-Yba.r Union
Schools
% 4-14
11-19
7-19
19-59
10-19
18-38
8-17
32-57
4-14
9-30
16-28
18^2
13-37
14^30
5-17
2
12-27
4-30
15-50
Mid-
dle
Case
$9
20
14
78
18
40
14
59
14
21
21
30
21
29
14
20
27
31
50
Limits
within
Which Mid-
dle 50% of
Cases Fall
$ 4-15
13-31
9-18
47-133
13-27
27-70
8-18
45-100
9-19
14-35
14-30
19-49
14-32
1&-52
7-23
8-55
17-42
18-46
29-105
» The number of cases varies in each subject and in each class of district.
* Too few cases to make limits significant.
It should be noted thai all the subject-cost figures on high schools are
only translations of the teacher's time schedule into dollars. These figures
measure in money terms the relative weight given to different subjects,
and the number of children per class or section in a subject. The cost of
the subjects will vary largely as the time devoted to them varies. Re-
ducing the time devoted to a high school subject, or even eliminating it
from the curriculum, will seldom reduce noticeably the total high school
cost. For the high school students have elections and must take a re-
quired number of units per year. Dropping one subject merely means
/
\
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 67
that they must secure an equivalent credit for work in some other subject
that will cost the district about as much.^ Per-pupil costs in any subject
wiU of course be reduced by any increase in the number of pupils per
teacher y per class or section in such subject.
The first Une of Table 20 is to be read as f oUows : When expenditures
for the teaching of first-year EngHsh were calculated, the cost in the middle
case city was $11 per pupil, while costs for the middle fifty per cent of
the cities range from $6 to $16 per pupO. In Uke manner, for villages
the cost of the middle case is $8, and the Umits within which the middle
fifty per cent fall are $4 and $14. For four-year union schools the middle
case IS $9, and the limits within which the middle fifty per cent fall are $4
and $15. If the extreme cases were reported, they would show much
greater variabiUty. In some of the smaller high schools it costs more
than $150 per pupil to teach certain of the subjects offered.
Evening Schools — Adult Education
In many communities throughout the State of New York evening
schools are estabUshed for those not attending day schools. This part
of the state's educational program is sometimes referred to as " adult
education." ^ -
Data were obtained through the State Department of Education for
four types of evening school work : (1) immigrant education, (2) grammar-
grade education, (3) industrial education, and (4) home-making education.
Immigrant education includes classes in elementary EngKsh and Ameri-
can citizenship for persons 16 years of a«e and over. Grammar-grade
education includes classes in which the work is equivalent to that in grades
five to eight inclusive in the day schools. These classes are often prepara-
tory to entrance to evening high schools. The industrial and home-making
classes include non-vocational as well as vocational work.
The data here presented include returns from 1,094 classes in 75 different
communities, with a total average attendance per session in the classes
reported of 13,400.» The sampHng includes aU sizes and types of cities
and viUages and a few rural communities. The individual class » was the
basis upon which the data were compiled, and the study sought to deter-
mine the unit clock-hour cost. Upon this basii^timates may be made
of the probable cost of work in these and close^elated fields when this
» According to unpublished results from the niinois ^ion of the Educational Finance Inquiry the
reduction m cost of current expenses attainable through reducing the curricula of twelve large high
schools to four subjects, would be comparatively little. This possible reduction ranged from 18 79 per
cent m one school to .42 of one per cent in another school, the median for the twelve schoob being 8 79
per cent and the average 8.55 per cent.
« U was impracticable to ascertain the total attendance of the evening schools for the whole state.
"When mformation was lacking regarding each class separately, the material was rejected, unless thtt
length and number of sessions in the classes reported in a group were identical.
68 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
part of the educational program is extended. The unit cost was deter-
mined according to the following formula :
Amount paid to teachers Cost per pupil
Number of
sessions
X
Number of hours
per session
^ I Average attendance 1
\ per session j
clock hour
Unit costs so determined are reported in the table given in footnote.*
It will be observed that the cost is figured only upon the teachers' salary.
K it were possible to obtain the complete cost, there would probably need
to be added about 33 per cent to the per-teacher cost. This estimate is
based upon the fact that in an analysis of the budget for day schools
approximately 75 per cent of the cost is chargeable to the salaries of teach-
ers. Table 21 gives the salary cost of instruction per student per clock
hour in four of the home-making courses.
In the column headed " Cost per Student per Clock Hour " will be found
a measure which indicates roughly the relative cost of maintaining the
various courses. The variation among the several communities of the
state appears in that part of the table which gives the " Range of Unit
Costs in Different Communities." These variations, as indicated in
the table, show minimum costs as low as 6.1 cents per hour per student,
and a maximum of 31.2 cents per student clock hour.
Similar calculations were made with respect to the expenses for salaries
for instruction in industrial education in evening schools, as shown in
Table 22.
The salary cost per student per clock hour when calculated upon the
basis of the whole number of classes and of students enrolled ranges from
13.6 cents per student clock hour in woodworking to 16.2 cents per student
clock hour in machine shop work. It will be observed that these costs
are slightly higher than those involved in the home-making courses, and
that the variations among them are greater. The lowest cost reported
»PER-PUPIL CLOCK-HOUR COSTS, TEACHERS' SALARIES ONLY, 1921
Computed on the basis of a five-hour day with 200 dayv of school for first- and second-class cities, 190
days for third-class cities, and 180 days for all other communities.
Elemektart
Schools
sccondabt
Schools
Cities
Rrst-Class
0.3 cents
5.4 cents
4.3 cents
4.5 cents
4.5 cents
5.4 cents
4.3 cents
5.1 cents
12.4 cents
9.3 cents
7.9 cents
10.0 cents
11 1 cents
Second-Class
Third-CIasa
Villages over 4,500
Union Schools
Four- Year
Three- Year
13.1 cents
Two- Year
17.7 cents
One- Year
17.2 cents
r%
)
V
04
n
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 69
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70 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
is 5.4 cents per student clock hour, while the highest cost shown is 66.7
cents per student clock hour.
The salary charge for instruction in the four types of evening school
work — immigrant education, grammar-grade education, industrial edu-
cation, and home-making education — appear in Table 23.
These totals for each type of education are significant in showing that
home-making courses are operated at the least expense, immigrant educa-
tion comes second, grammar-grade education third, and industrial educa-
tion highest. The range of unit costs among the different communities
varies all the way from 3.3 cents to 41.7 cents per student clock hour.
For the City of New York, the 1921 teachers' salary cost per student
clock hour was 19 cents for evening high and evening trade schools, and
9.3 cents for evening elementary schools.
Special Education
It was not possible, from the reports available in the state office, to seg-
regate the costs of various types of special work. These have been in-
cluded in the expenses for elementary and for secondary schools, in con-
nection with the regular work of which schools, special classes for the
physically handicapped, the backward, and the delinquent have been
conducted, and will doubtless continue to be so conducted. Since the
total cost of these special classes forms only a small fraction of the aggregate
school expense, it will, for practical purposes, be safe to assume that their
costs will increase at approximately the same rate as total school costs.
Current Expenses for Higher Education
Higher education in the State of New York is provided primarily by
non-tax-supported institutions. Of the $25,056,022 spent for higher edu-
cation in the state during 1920, $22,024,306 was derived from private
sources. The costs of higher education in the State of New York for 1910,
1915, and 1920 are given in Table 24. These figures include the expenses
for private institutions and for public institutions other than those for
training teachers, and the sums made available by the state for scholarships.*
>It is interesting to note that larger numbers of students, attending universities, colleges, technical
and professional schools, go from the State of New York to institutions located in other sUtes than coma
from other states to attend higher educational institutions located within the State of New York. The
facts as reported by Mr. George F. Zook in his "The Residence of Students in Uniirersities and Colleges.'*
United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1922, No. 18, p. 9, are as follows :
Number of students whose residence is in the State of New York attending universities, colleges,
technological, and professional schools in the United SUtes. 1921 55,130
Number of students whose residence is in the State of New York attending institutions located
within the state ^ 030
Number of students whose residence is in the State of New York attending institutions located out-
side the state 15.001
Students attending universities, colleges, technological, and state professional schools within the
State of New York, 1921 49 232
Students residing in New York attending institutions located in the state 9,246
Excess of students leaving the State of New York to attend higher educational institutions over
those coming into the state for this purpose 5.84S
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 71
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72 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
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CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 73
While not appearing as a separate item, federal aid is included in the total
spent from pubUc som-ces, to the extent of $68,000 in 1910; $116,587
in 1915 ; and $352,896 in 1920.
It will be observed that the total spent for higher education within the
state has almost doubled in the period from 1910 to 1920, and that the
expenditures from private as well as from pubhc sources have also doubled.
The amount contributed by the state government to institutions controlled
by the state has increased almost three times, while the amount expended
from local sources has increased only about sixty per cent.^
Traininq op Teachers in Tax-Supported Institutions
Teachers are trained for service in the State of New York in several
different types of institutions. The state maintains one college for the
training of teachers and ten normal schools. High school graduation is
required for entrance to all of these institutions. The State Teachers
College offers a four-year course, and since 1922 the normal schools are
offering three-year, instead of two-year, professional courses. There are
seven training schools in the larger cities of the state which offer a two-year
professional course, and require the completion of a four-year high school
course for entrance. The work done in them is entirely comparable to
that in the state normal schools. In 1921 forty-three training classes,
offering a one-year course based upon high school graduation, were main-
tained by local school systems with aid from the state.
Beside these faciUties, special courses in preparation for teaching are
offered in the College of the City of New York and also in Hunter
College, the woman's college maintained by the city. The state does not
contribute to the expenses for maintenance of these institutions, but it
does grant university scholarships of $100 annual value, some of which are
used by students in the State College for Teachers.
The aggregate expenses for the training of teachers in the State of New
York for the year 1921 appear in Table 25.
Teachers' Salaries
As noted in the Introduction, because of the extensive work of the com-
mittees of the National Education Association, the Educational Finance
Inquiry Conunission did not feel justified in expending its time or resources
on an independent study of teachers' salaries. But since teachers' salaries
constitute approximately seventy-five per cent of current expense for
schools in the larger communities, and even more in the smaller ones, and
since there had been throughout the state so much pubhc discussion of
the teacher salary increases under laws going into effect in 1920 and 1921,
» Higher education in the State of New York is provided primarily from private sources and the state
» not comparable in its provision for higher education to many of the other states of the Union.
74 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
the subject could not be ignored. Accordingly, it seemed advisable to
give a brief digest of the present law on teachers' salaries and a summary
of the salaries actually paid.
TABLE 25
COST OF TEACHER TRAINING IN TAX-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921
Current Expenses of Teacher Training
Institution
Total Cubrknt Expenses
New York State College for Teachers *
College of the City of New York *
$ 194,566
362,102'
199,670*
48,800
1,081,197
383,001*
54,236 »
$2,323,572
$175,480,003
1.3
Hunter College *
488 University Scholarships
State Normal Schools (two-year course) *
Training Schools (two-year course)
Training Classes (one-year course)
TOTAL
Total Cost of Education (state and local)
Percentage of total state and local expenses of education spent
on teacher training
1 Supported entirely by the state.
« Supported by the City of New York.
> Calculated as follows : Total salaries. $501,717. In the preceding year salaries made up 68.5 per cent
of total current expenses. On that basis total current expenses were $732,434. Total graduates, 267.
Graduates prepared for teaching, 132. Uf X $732,434 equals $362,102. It is assumed that the number
of undergraduates preparing for teaching is to the total niunber of underoraduatet, as the number of gradit-
atet prepared for teaching is to the total number of ffradttate*.
* The total salary cost was $422,888. In the preceding year salaries made up 82.8 per cent of total eturent
expenses. On that basis total cxurent expenses were $510,734. There were in all 243 graduates. Of
these 95 were prepared to teach as recognised by eligibility to the College Graduate Professional Provisional
Certificate. The figure given is ^ of the total current expenses.
* Salaries of teachers only.
The law lays down minimum salary schedules for the different types of
communities and for various kinds of positions in each community. These
schedules as a rule prescribe for each type of position a minimum initial
salary, a minimum annual increment for satisfactory service, and a mini-
mum number of annual increments. Naturally all these items are numeri-
cally larger as the communities increase in size. Each community then
proceeds through its school board to make its salary schedule conform to
the minimum requirements for a community of its class. Table 25A gives
a convenient digest of the minimum requirements for all classes of posi-
tions in all kinds of communities.
To give an accurate picture of the teachers' salaries actually paid is
a difficult matter. Such salaries depend upon the extent to which the
various communities exceed the state mininnum requirements and upon
the proportion of inexperienced teachers employed. When the Head-
quarters Staff sought data on present teachers' salaries in the state, the
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 75
TABLE 25A
DIGEST OF TEACHERS' MINIMUM SALARY LAW -STATE OF
NEW YORK
According to Education Law, Revised to July 1, 1923 (Article 33-b)
)
-<
I. City of New York
Elementary Schools
Kindergarten to Six-B
Classes
Seven-A to Nine-B Classes
Teachers of Special Sub-
jects
Assistants to Principals
(Heads of Departments)
Principals of Elementary
and All Special Schools .
Teacher Clerks . . . .
High Schools and Training
Schools
Assistant Teachers . . .
First Assistants ....
Clerical, Laboratory, Li-
brary, etc
Principals
Colleges
Fellows
Tutors ......]
Clerical, Laboratory, Li-
brary, etc
Instructors
Assistant Professors . . .
Associate Professors . .
Lecturers
Curator and Auditor . .
Professors
Dean, Librarian, Secretary
of Faculty
President
n. Cities of First Class —Population
Less than Million
Elementary Schools
Kindergarten to Eighth
Grade
Junior High Schools . .
High Schools
MlKIMUM
Initial
Salabt
$1500
1900
1900
3400
3750
1200
1900
3200
1400
5500
500
1000
1400
2000
3000
4500
2000
4000
5000
200«
10,000
3
1600
MlNIMITM
Annual
Incbsmknt
$125
150
150
100
250
100
150
200
100
250
100*
100*
100*
MiNnfUM
numbkr of
Annual
Incsbmbnts
11
9
9
2
4
6
12
5
10
2
8
8
8
MiNnfUM
Salart AFTEB
Skcurinq
MnOMtTM
NuMBBB or
Annual
Incbembnts
$2875
3250
3250
3600
4750
1800
3700
4200
2400
6000
1000 »
2000»
2400»
3500»
4500*
5500*
5000'
6000*
8000*
500 «•»
12,500 »
2400
in sdtSiroriiS^'^ ^"^ Increment and Minimun. Number of Annual Increments not given
; Fo. .unai^ doUar. in advan. o. ss.;:::'.y ro:^t:Zi:tAtZ:l ^r^ -"'
These figurea are for maximum salaries. They are the only ones available.
76 FINANCING OP EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE 25A (Cmtinued)
DIGEST OF TEACHERS' MINIMUM SALARY LAW— STATE OF
NEW YORK
According to Education Law, Revised to July 1, 1923 (Article 33-b)
III. Cities of Population of Fifty
Thousand and Less than One
Hundred Fifty Thousand
Elementary Schools
^ Kindergarten to Eighth
Grade
High Schools
rV. Cities of Population Less than
Fifty Thousand
Elementary Schools
Kindergarten to Eighth
Grade
High Schools
V. Union Free Schools
Elementary Schools
Kindergarten to Eighth
Grade
High Schools
VI. Rural and AU Other Districts
MiNnrnM
Initial
Salart
$1100
1300
1000
1150
800
900
7201
MlNIMITll
AumuAii
Incrkmsnt
$75
76
75
76
75
76
MiNuimf
NuMBKB or
Annual
Increments
8
8
8
8
8
8
MlNIMlJli
Salary aftkb
Securino
MiNIlfUlC
numrbr of
Annual
Imcrxmxnts
$1700
1900
1600
1760
1400
1600
1 Education Law. Sec. 491-A, Sub. Sec. 3.
State Education Department was found to have copies of schedules ac-
tually in operation and a record of the salary paid each teacher in the pubhc
schools of the state. But the Department had not found it possible to work
up summaries to show how the schedules in general exceeded the state
minimum requirements, or how many teachers received any given salary.
In this situation where the data in these two particulars could not have
been secured save with very great labor and expense, all that could be done
was to utilize the most recent data published by the National Education
Association. These data do not include all the teachers of any class in
New York or in other states. But they do include suflBcient cases to give
a fair samphng, as a careful perusal of the details in the Association's report
will show. The results from all the teachers would probably not have
been materially different from the results obtained. Unfortunately the
data on New York are classified by the usual census size groupings, which
do not at all fit the New York State legal classifications of cities and vil-
lages. The data are for the year 1922-1923, but, as most of the schedules
went into full operation in 1920 and 1921, the figures probably represent
the present situation accurately.
/
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 77
Table 25B gives a summary of the salaries actually paid in 1922-1923
to the village and city teachers of the state, by bringing together figures
for the median (middle-case) salaries for various positions in communities
of different sizes from 2500 to over 100,000 population. All the figures
are taken directly from Tables 57 to 61 of " Teachers' Salaries and Salary
Trends in 1923," the report of the Salary Committee of the National Educa-
tion Association, pubHshed by the Association in July of 1923. This bulletin
in addition has complete distribution tables (Numbers 62-64), showing
respectively how many salaries of each size were paid in the districts re-
porting for elementary teachers, high school teachers, and supervising ele-
mentary school principals, irrespective of the kind of district they were in.
TABLE 25B
MEDIAN (MIDDLE-CASE) SALARIES ACTUALLY PAID THE PUBLIC
SCHOOL TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS IN CITIES AND VILLAGES
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1922-1923 ^
(The * before an item indicates that this salary is below the corresponding
median salary for the United States as a whole.)
Im CrriBs and ViUiAOBS with a PopuiiATiON or
S500
to
6000
6000
to
10,000
10,000
to
so.ooo
30,000
to
100,000
Over
100,000
Kindergarten Teachers . .
Elementary Teachers . .
Junior High School
Teachers
Senior High School
Teachers
Special Class Teachers . .
School Nurses
Elementary Principals, All
Elementary Principals
Supervising
Elementary Principals
Nonnsupervising . . .
Junior High School
Principals
Senior High School
Principals
♦$1150
1259
1416
1522
♦1550
1500
1583
2525
1950
2100
$1333
1354
1621
1645
*1266
1600
♦1492
2100
2000
♦2400
♦$1313
1344
1442
♦1628
♦1525
♦1400
♦1940
1723
♦2950
$1559
1551
♦1550
♦1880
♦1617
♦1367
2388
2450
4100
$2187
2584
3236
3517
2631
♦1414
4638
3619
4633
6500
1 Adapted from Tables 57-61 of "Teachers' Salaries and Salary Trends in 1923," Report of the Salary
Committee of the National Education Association, July, 1923.
Table 25C gives the median salaries actually paid different kinds of rural
teachers and principals in 1922-1923 in the state, with similar figures for
easy comparison with the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New
78 FINANCING OP EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Jersey. These figures are from Table 65 of the National Education As-
sociation's bulletin referred to above.
TABLE 25C
MEDIAN (MIDDLE-CASE) SAL.UIIES OF RURAL PUBLIC SCHOOL
TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS -STATES OF CONNECTICUT, MAS-
SACHUSETTS, NEW JERSEY, AND NEW YORK, 1922-19231
(The number of ♦'s before any New York salary item indicates the times such
salary is exceeded by the corresponding figures for the three other states.)
Teachxbs in
Principals in
One-
Teacher
Schoob
Two-
Teacher
Schools
Three or
More
Teacher
Schools
in Open
Country
Consoli-
dated
Schools
Three or
More
Teacher
Schools in
Villages
and
Towns
Elemen-
tary
Schools
Only
Offanised
High
Schools
Only
Schools
Havinc
Both
Elementary
and Hifh
School
Pupils
Connecticut .
Massachusetts
New Jersey .
New York
$1008
887
1037
♦•♦ 870
$1088
1046
1165
•♦nois
$1067
1063
1231
1320
$1719
1248
1215
•1271
$1254
1122
1414
♦♦1218
$2250
1300
1819
♦♦1443
$2463
1757
2550
♦♦♦1510
$1800
1650
2001
♦♦1767
1 Adapted from Table 65 of "Teachers' Salaries and Salary Trends in 1923." Report of the Salary
Committee of the National Education Association. July, 1923. ^^
AH of the tables of the National Education Association data cited give
figures for the states individually and for the country as a whole. From
these it is possible for the interested reader to gain a clear idea as to how
salaries for teachers in the State of New York compare with those in other
states. It might be expected at first thought that teachers' salaries in a
wealthy state hke New York would naturaUy exceed those for the country
as a whole, which include the poorer states. But as the starred figures of
Table 25B indicate, New York in a surprising number of instances does
not have a median salary equal to the median salary for the country as
m a whole. The complete distribution tables show that median salaries
"^^ for both elementary and high school teachers in the state outside of the
City of New York are distinctly below the salaries for such positions in
the United States as a whole. The median salaries for rural teachers for
the country as a whole would be meaningless because the remainder of
the country is in general much more rural than is the State of New York.
But when states Kke Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey are
taken, states with which it would seem perfectly fair to compare New York,
substantially the same lower figures for New York are found. As shown
in Table 25C, there is only one kind of rural teaching position in the state
m which the teachers' median salary is not exceeded by the median salary
for such work in at least one of the other three states.
CURRENT EXPENSES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ANALYZED 79
The situation in a nutshell is this : While the salaries for certain kinds of
positions in certain types of communities and for the larger cities are on
the whole above typical salaries for such work in the entire country,
teachers' salaries at present in the state are in general distinctly below what
might be expected of the State of New York's resources. The available
facts indicate that the pubhc school teachers outside of the largest cities
are not so well paid as they are in a number of other states with which New
York would naturally be compared.
>
CHAPTER V
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
In Chapter III (pages 31-36) aggregate figures for the plant costs
of the tax-supported school system are given in two forms — as cash
payments and as accrued economic charge. The present chapter re-
cords the data which underlie those aggregates, explains the methods of
computation, and draws attention to certain important deductions which
flow from the figures when studied in detail.
Plant costs are often neglected in studies of educational finance.
Students are apt to restrict their field of study to current expenses, ignor-
ing the costs of plant and permanent equipment. This is done apparently
on the theory that such costs are insignificant in amount, that they are
abnormal in the sense that they recur infrequently, and that any depre-
ciation in buildings is offset by appreciation in the value of school sites.
As a matter of fact, however, these costs are substantial in amount and,
except in small districts, tend to be constant rather than sporadic. The
data indicate that in the City of New York, at least, there is no foundation
for the behef that the appreciation in land values is substantial enough to
offset depreciation in structures. In determining the charge to the com-
munity, moreover, an appreciation of the value of a school site is not
pertinent if an equal or higher price must be paid for a substituted site
jdelding the same service. Furthermore, it may be strongly argued that
a valuable school site is more often than not a liability. A part of the
capital cost is the ground rent (imputed economic cost). When a school
building is occupying a valuable site, it is using a portion of the com-
munity assets which, if in private hands, would contribute to the
popular income, and it is often thus depriving the city of large sums
in taxes.
The varying practice with respect to insurance is a disturbing factor in
the problem of separating current expenses from plant costs. In those
cases in which school buildings have been insured, the premiums have
been charged to current expenses, but in the larger cities the common
practice has been not to insure the buildings. In all cases it has been the
practice to charge to capital outlay the entire cost of reconstruction of a
building destroyed by fire whether insured or not.
80
I
/
t
)
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
Plant Costs — Cash Disbursements
81
As has been explained in Chapter III (page 38) the figures presented
under the heading " Cash Disbursements " represent the bookkeeping
facts of money actually paid out of the public treasury for the various
items. No detailed explanation of their character is necessary, other than
that given in the earUer chapter, but it is desirable to present them in
somewhat greater detail at this place. Table 26 classifies cash disburse-
ments so as to exhibit capital outlays for common schools (including high
schools), normal schools, and colleges, and for general state administration.
The outlay under the last of these three headings represents the capital
cost of the elaborate building occupied by the State Department of Edu-
cation in Albany.
TABLE 26
PUBLIC EDUCATION — CASH DISBURSEMENTS FOR CAPITAL OUTLAY,
1910-1922
Classified bt Common Schools (Including High Schools), Nobmal Schools
AND Colleges, and General Administration ^
For Years Ending July 31
State and Local — State of New York
Year
Common Schools
(Including High
Schools)
Normal Schools
AND Colleges
General State
Administration
Total
1910
$ 7,130,568
$ 112,341
S 680,243
$ 7,923,152
1911
7,425,306
176,316
960,797
8,562,419
1912
8.336,479
342,230
1,083,450
9,762,159
1913
9,161,009
588,117
989,652
10,738,778
1914
11,922,121
548,945
139,566
12,610,632
1915
11,818,598
338,688
87,515
12,244,801
1916*
6,818,345
279,856
19,213
7,117,414
1917
7,601,691
259,741
10,815
7,872,247
1918
7,564,886
387,455
4,390
7,956,731
1919
8,064,969
264,305
7,867
8,337,141
1920
9,694,554
298,467
3,641
9,996,662
1921
20,652,914
129,544
3,680
20,786,138
1922
29,432,748
597,201
3,934
30,033,883
City of New York Only
1910
$ 4,171,189
$ 4,171,189
1915
6,598,465
$55,989
6,654,454
1920
2,863,398
2,863,398
1921
9,559,011
9,559,011
1922
13,857,989
13,857,989
1 See notes to Table 2, p. 33.
* The state's fiscal year was changed at this time, so that certain of the state expenses were for a nine-
month rather than a twelve-month period.
82 FINANCING OP EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The cash disbursements for interest payments set forth in Table 2, on
page 33 are crechted m the accounts entirely to common schools (including
high schools) The total of $30,033,883 represents, then, the amount^!
u^y mvest^m new school sites, plant, and equipment in the single year
1922. In view of the inadequacy of the physical equipment at present
available (see page 91), it is probable that the community must extSTto
provide as much or more each year for some time to come.
Plant Costs — Annual Accrued Economic Cost
Aggre^te figures are presented in Chapter III (see page 35) repr^
senting the annua^ depreciation of school plant and equipment, and tht
annuaJ interest value of the capital tied up in school proj^rty. As the2
fo^e^irr™' *"' ^t''- .than true bookkeeping figures, it is necessaiy
to explain the manner m which they are calculated
h.2rn^''\f'!,r'^'^. '" *«^""« ^''^ yearly depreciation of school
buildings IS the determination of a fair figure to represent the life of school
buildings. Once this figure has been chosen, the assumption that tt
S^luTtifir "'' "^ ''' "'^^-^ -* ^ '-' -^ -- on the average
schlf*l?„!i?* *'^r"'Pt*'"* "u ^'"' '* •' '^"'"^ tl"** the depreciation of
! t^-^ tpH ? "^/Sr'*''"* *^" '*''*" ^''^'^'' ^ figured on the basis of an
estima ed hfe of 75 years.' On this assumption a school building loses
TT or 1^ per cent of its ongmal cost value each year. Since available
figures on the valuation of school buildings in the State of New York
are m terms of "present values," rather than original cost figures
It becomes necessary so to relate the present value of many buildings of
widely-varying ages to their original costs, that a percentage of d^re^
v^l „W K ? /T"* ^'^"" ""^y ^ determined. A buUding fifty
yeare old has already lost « or | of its original value, and its present
value IS, then, the remaining * of its original value. During the comLg
Se !f o^T/""*'".'^."' "^ """^"^ ^''•"«' or-what'is the Ze
■^ Jf' P'*"^"* '"*'"® ^ «°tered on the school records.
To determine a figure for the percentage of depreciation in the present
ranged from 60 to 100 y«« with Z^tJ^'J^ e«,mate, of th«,e men a. to the lite of «hool building,
hae b«n^„,idered Of gr^t import^?. inZ^t It^^'p^ibt^g^^' °'"""' "' ""* "•*"'"--
.he^.tt"t;^:?:iitromei'r,r,'f '"' r? "-""""^ «-"■""• "^-^^^-^^
an estimate „^e pre^JlTe lifeof el^h f™ !f h t"*" "' l\° ^'"'* "' '*"' ^'"'' "'^ *» •'""^ '«'"■ •"!»
Mr. Franic Lord, of 5,7q^ „d B^l ?^ T 7"" '*"°'' '"'"'«' " "« ^ «"» «P«='ty wa.
HAed an envi.be reputatlTrf «X ?T''' T*'^' '^'^ '""^ «'P<^»« '" ««i. 6eld, ha, 4.b-
buildinga. With an th^vaiirble Z. ri^T'^.t k" "k'!!"** °' ""• "^ "" ■" doP™-"™ <"
reached the conelnrion thatX l^^^t T ?" ^""''''°*' "' "" ""<' •«'<"• I-™- «'• I*«l
New York would v.^ ZIk tols^ ^.'h ^r", '^ °"*.'' ."' "''"' ~''°»' ''>""'■'«• '■" "■« ^tate of
-.«««. the ^e Of 7,z^.v: 1^. ^ rth'e'ti;^::;^', ts."" *^ "' "^"""- ^-
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
83
1
)
'
i
1-3
n
1^
Oft
o
fa
o
O
a
fa
o
H
O
Under
Con-
struc-
tion
lO 1H (M
tm
1921
to
1922
fO ■^ w^
^4
CO o
^ O N
Oi ■«> o>
a> -S o
o
2S
CO
O) o A
X «« 00
« o
O O)
§8
885
(O
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o
o t^
■*» X
CO O CO
X ■»» X
2) o V
X ■t' X
X -S X
CO o
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CO o
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S5S
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O I
84 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
value of the school buildings of a city or state, one must have a single figure
to represent the ages of all the buildings in that particular unit. Such a
figure was secured for the school buildings of the cities of the State of New
York, and another for the rural school buildings, as follows :
The dates of construction of all school buildings being known, these
buildings were divided into four quarters on the basis of their ages. For
instance, in the City of New York, the oldest quarter of the total number
of school buildings was constructed between 1800 and 1883. (See Table
27.) The date of erection of the middle building in the group was then
determined, and its age was used to represent the ages of all the buildings
constituting this oldest quarter of New York City's school buildings. The
date of erection of this middle-case building was 1868. Its age in 1921
was, therefore, 53 years, and the assumption was made that one-fourth of
the school buildings of the City of New York were 53 years old.
TABLE 28
SCHOOL BUILDINGS — CITY OF NEW YORK — DATE OF CONSTRUC-
TION, AND AGE IN 1921, OF CERTAIN TYPICAL BUILDINGS
Age Group
CONSTRrCTION
Period
CoNBTRUCnON
Date or Middle-
Case BmiiDiNO
AOE
IN
1921
Oldest quarter
1800-1883
1883-1897
1897-1906
1906-1921
1868
1892
1900
1912
Next oldest quarter
Third oldest quarter
Newest quarter
53
29
21
9
In like manner, as shown in Table 28, the age of the next oldest quarter
of New York City's buildings was assumed to be 29 years in 1921. Of the
two most recent quarters the ages were determined as 21 and 9 years
respectively. Each of these four ages represents the same number of
buildings — one-fourth of all the school buildings in the City of New York,
and it therefore seems valid to use the average of these four ages as the
one figure best representing the age of school buildings in the City of
New York.
This figure for 1921 is 28 years (53 plus 29 plus 21 plus 9 divided by 4
equals 28). It may then be assumed that the present value of these school
buildings is ^ minus ^, or 62f per cent of their original value. In 1922
each of these buildings would be one year older and would therefore have
lost another 1| per cent of its original value. The present value of these
same buildings in 1922 would average 1^ per cent less, or only 61^ per cent
of the original value. This depreciation in one year of 1| per cent of origi-
nal value is therefore equivalent to IJ divided by 62|, or 2.1 per cent of
the present value in 1921.
)
!•
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
85
Similar treatment of the ages of school buildings in the City of New
York in 1910 showed that the present value of these buildings depreciated
1.8 per cent between 1910 and 1911. This computation is followed through
in Table 29.
TABLE 29
SCHOOL BUILDINGS — CITY OF NEW YORK — DATE OF CONSTRUC-
TION, AND AGE IN 1910, OF CERTAIN TYPICAL BUILDINGS
AoB Group
Oldest quarter . .
Next oldest quarter
Third oldest quarter
Newest quarter
Construction
Period
Construction
Date of Middle-
Case Building
1800-1879
1879-1894
1894r-1901
1901-1910
1866
1889
1898
1905
Age
in
1910
44
21
12
5
Calculation : Average age in 1910 (44 plus 21 plus 12 plus 5 divided by 4) equals 204 years.
75 20— '54-—
Present value 1910 equals ^ minus^ equals ^ equals 72| per cent of original value.
Average age in 1911, 21 J years.
Present value in 1911 equals 71j per cent of original value.
Depreciation in present value, 1910 to 1911, equals li divided by 72f equals 1.8 percent
The rate of depreciation having been figured as 1.8 per cent in 1910 and
2.1 per cent in 1921, it seems fair to assume that the best figure to represent
the annual depreciation in the present values of New York City's school
buildings during the past twelve years is 2.0 per cent.
Having the dates of construction of any group of school buildings it is
possible to determine the rate of depreciation in present values by the
method outhned above. This has resulted in accepting 2 per cent as the
best figure to use in determining the depreciation of the school buildings
in the cities of the State of New York, and 3 per cent as the best figure
to use in connection with the rural school buildings.
TABLE 30
RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS — STATE OF NEW YORK — DISTRIBUTION
OF ONE- TO FOUR-TEACHER SCHOOL BUILDINGS BY DATE
OF CONSTRUCTION »
Date of Con-
struction
1840
or
before
1841
to
1850
1851
to
1860
1861
to
1870
1871
to
1880
1881
to
1890
1891
to
1900
1901
to
1910
1911
to
1920
Number of
Buildings
130
133
166
218
225
154
81
84
72
Total Number of Buildings .
• • •
• • •
■ ■ a
lOAQ
8.h Jf^' ***"' is a combination of Tables 61. 62. and 63 in the volume Buildings and Grounds of the " Rural
School Survey of New York State " by the Joint Committee on Rural Schools. Ithaca. New York. IsST
86 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Table 30 presents the basic facts as to the dates of construction of the
rural school buildings of the State of New York. From the facts of this
table Tables 31 and 32 are derived. In Table 31 it is shown that in 1920
the four age groups of these rural buildings are respectively 77, 57, 43, and
19 years old.
TABLE 31
ONE- TO FOUR-TEACHER RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS — STATE OF
NEW YORK — DATE OF CONSTRUCTION, AND AGE IN 1920,
OF CERTAIN TYPICAL BUILDINGS
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
87
Group
Construction
Pkriod
Construction
Date of Middle-
Case Building
Aoa
IN
1920
Oldest quarter
Next oldest quarter
Third oldest quarter
Newest quarter
Before 1854
1854-1870
1870-1886
1886-1920
1843
1863
1877
1901
77
67
43
19
In computing the average age of any group of buildings it is inconsistent
to assign to any subgroup an age greater than 75 years. To do so would
require the assigning of a negative value to this subgroup. The oldest
quarter of these rural buildings is therefore called 75 years old in both
1920 and in 1921. The one figure best representing the age of rural school
buildings in 1920 is therefore (75 plus 57 plus 43 plus 19) divided by 4 or
48^ years. The present value of these buildings in 1920 would therefore
be =^ minus ^^, or 35J per cent of the original value. In 1921 the
average age of these same buildings would be (75 plus 58 plus 44 plus 20)
divided by 4, or 49^ years. The present value of the buildings in 1921 is
254
therefore ^, or 34J per cent of their original value. The depreciation
of these buildings from 1920 to 1921 in terms of present value is therefore
(35^ minus 34J) divided by 35J, or 2.8 per cent.
Table 32 presents corresponding facts for this group of rural buildings
in 1910.
TABLE 32
ONE- TO FOUR-TEACHER RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS — STATE OF
NEW YORK — DATE OF CONSTRUCTION, AND AGE IN 1910,
OF CERTAIN TYPICAL BUILDINGS
Group
Construction
Period
Construction
Date op Middle-
Case Building
AOB
IN
1910
Oldest quarter
Next oldest quarter
Third oldest quarter
Newest quarter
Before 1853
1853-1869
1869-1882
1882-1910
1842
1862
1875
1893
68
48
35
17
)
V
4
In this table the four quarters of the entire group are shown to have
been 68, 48, 35, and 17 years old in 1910. The average age of the group
was therefore 42 years and their present value was 44 per cent of their
original cost. In 1911 the average age of this same group was 43 years
and the present value 42f per cent of the original value. The present value
therefore depreciated from 1910 to 1911 1| divided by 44, or 3.0 per cent.
From this determination of a depreciation of 3.0 per cent at the begin-
ning and 2.8 per cent at the end of the twelve-year period 3 per cent has
been considered the best figure to use in connection with the annual de-
preciation in present value of rural school buildings.
Imputed Interest — How Calculated. — The value of the school build-
ings, sites, and equipment in the first-, second-, and third-class cities, in
towns and villages, and in all other school districts for each of the twelve
years, 1910-1921 inclusive, was secured from the State Department of
Education. To compute an interest charge on the capital thus tied up, it
was necessary to secure some figure as to the value of money in each of
these groups each year. The income basis of long-term bonds issued for
school purposes was decided upon as the best figure to represent this value.
Simply to find the income basis of each bond issue in a given year and to
find the average of these rates would not allow for a weighting of this rate
in proportion to the amounts of the issues. To illustrate : An issue of
$10,000 at 6 per cent and an issue of $100,000 at 4^ per cent income
basis gives an average rate of 5.25 per cent. It is clear that this method
attaches as much weight to the $10,000 as to the $100,000 issue. The
method used in this investigation was to find the amount of interest
earned in one year by the capital invested in each bond issue and to divide
the sum of these amounts of interest by the total sum of the amounts of
the issues, thus securing a single rate to represent the value of school money
in that particular year. To illustrate, using the example above : $10,000
sold at an income basis of 6 per cent would yield $600 of interest yearly.
One hundred thousand dollars at 4 J per cent would yield $4,500. The total
of $110,000 therefore would earn in one year $5,100. This amounts to an
income basis of $5,100 divided by $110,000, or 4.64 per cent for that year.
The source of facts concerning school bond issues during these twelve
years was " Municipal Bond Sales," published each year as a supplement
to " The Bond Buyer." This book tabulates complete data concerning
each municipal bond sold in a given year, giving the facts concerning
amount of issue, purpose for which issued, the rate, the selling price, and
the income basis. From this source the amount of each issue for school
purposes, and the income basis of that issue for each year, was tabulated.
The tabulations were made separately for the following groups of com-
munities in the State of New York : first-class cities ; second-class cities ;
third-class cities ; towns and villages ; and all other school districts.
88 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Throughout the tabulation, the City of New York was recorded sepa-
rately from the other first-class cities, making it possible to compute the
rate for first-class cities, all cities of the state, or for the entire state, with the
City of New York included, and with it excluded. The amount of issue
and the income basis being tabulated in two columns for each group, it
was possible by computation to secure the third column, the yearly interest
on each issue. Then, as explained above, the column giving the amount
of issues and the column with the yearly interest, were summed and the
division made resulted in a single figure as the income basis of long term
issues for school purposes in each of these groups. Combinations of these
totals made it possible to compute the corresponding figure for any desired
combination of school conmiunities in the state.
Each school district of the state reports to the State Department at
Albany each year the present value of its school buildings, sites, hbrary,
apparatus, furniture, and all other school property. In the case of the
City of New York, the reports on buildings and sites have not been made
on the basis of present value, as was asked by the State Department, but
on the basis of the total accumulated cost. Before appl3dng this com-
puted rate to the figures reported by the City of New York it was necessary
to substitute present values for the accmnulated cost figures.
As a basis for this correction the assessed values of school buildings and
sites in the City of New York were used. It is claimed by the Department
of Taxes and Assessments that these non-taxable properties are assessed
just as carefully and accurately as are other properties in the city. As a
result of this investigation it was determined that the 1922 value of school
buildings in the city was 76.4 per cent of the accumulated cost of these
buildings and that the present value of sites is 104.5 per cent of their orig-
inal cost. The State Department figures for the City of New York were
corrected on this basis. From that point, it was simply a matter of apply-
ing the computed interest rate, for a given group of school districts, to
the present value of the school plants in that group, in a given year, thus
securing the imputed interest, which would be a proper charge against the
communities of the state, as the result of having that amount of capital
invested in school plants.
In working out the totals for the state, the original small groups were
combined into three : cities exclusive of New York City ; the City of New
York ; and towns and villages. The total for these three groups gave the
figure for the whole state. These groups were chosen, because the state
reports give values of sites, buildings, and the Uke, by these subdivisions.
The interest rates resulting from the computation just described are
set forth in Table 33.
Appreciation in Value of School Sites. — The only reliable data relating
to changes in the value of school sites are not for the entire state, but only
*^
/
)
/
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
89
for the City of New York, and cover a much longer period than the twelve
years here under review. These data, however, are exceedingly interesting
in that they run counter to the general impression regarding the size of
the increase of land values. Thus, it has often been assumed in discus-
sions of this problem, that the increase in the value of school sites in general
is substantial enough to offset roughly the depreciation in the value of
school buildings, so rendering it unnecessary to consider such depreciation
as a cost. The facts appear to indicate that this assumption is not justified.
TABLE 33
COMPUTED INTEREST RATES ON ISSUES OF LONG-TERM SCHOOL
BONDS— STATE OF NEW YORK, 1910-1921
Year
Cities Exclusive op
City op New York
CiTT OP New York
Towns and
Villages
Total
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
Total
1910-1921
4.16%
4.13
4.18
4.52
4.30
4.22
4.01
4.27
4.50
4.38
5.03
4.53
4.45
4.00%
4.00
4.25
4.00
4.25
4.50
4.25
4.50
4.50
4.25 »
4.251
4.25
4.20
4.43%
4.41
4.45
4.76
4.71
4.64
4.25
4.54
5.05
4.62
5.36
5.30
4.91
4.10%
4.04
4.26
4.25
4.34
4.36
4.20
4.47
4.59
4.34
4.67
4.55
4.38
» The school money borrowed by the City of New York in 1919 and 1920 waa financed by short-term
notes bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent and upward. In 1921 these notes were funded into long-
term bonds bearing 4i per cent interest. This rate was adopted in the computation as the City of New
York figure for the three years 1919, 1920. and 1921. The rate on long-term school bonds, floated by
school districts outside the City of New York in 1919. was 4.46 per cent and in 1920 was 5.14 per cent.
For the entire twelve-year period, the rate outside the City was higher than the rate in the City of New York
by /</\» of 1 per cent.
The present value of the school sites (exclusive of buildings) in the City
of New York is $38,435,308. The original cost of these sites, some of
which were purchased many years ago, was $36,794,010. The increase in
value, therefore, amounts to only $1,641,298, or 4.5 per cent.
The figures regarding original cost are taken from the records of the
Board of Education of the City of New York. The individual sites were
identified on the records of the Department of Taxes and Assessments,
and the present assessed values were taken. The assessment of land values
in the City of New York is performed with a high degree of accuracy, and
the valuations are generally conceded to approximate closely the full market
value of the land. The State Tax Commission, basing its ratings upon
11
90 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
extensive comparisons with values stated in deeds in cases of recorded
sales, assigns, for 1921, the following percentage to the various boroughs
of the city, as an indication of its judgment concerning the probable per
cent which assessed values were of true values in those boroughs.
FXBCENTAOB
Manhattan 95
Bronx 93
Brooklyn 95
Queens 93
Richmond 93
Those familiar with real estate conditions testify that these percentages
are too low rather than too high. The assessors arrive at the value of the
school sites by the use of the same technique of unit foot-front values as that
used in assessing other land. They insist that the values assigned to school
sites are fully as precise and rehable as those assigned to land in general.
A comparison of the original cost of school sites with present values, by
boroughs, yields the following results :
Manhattan
Bronx
Brooklyn
Queens .
Richmond
Total .
Original Cost
$23,082,230
4,113,567
7,719,913
1,504,049
374,251
$36,794,010
PRE8ENT Value
$24,017,700
4,395,300
7,389,350
2,275,258
357,700
$38,435,308
Increase or
Decrsasb
+ $935,470
+ 281,733
- 330,563
+ 771,209
16,551
+$1,641,298
The surprisingly small increase in the value of school sites, taking the
city as a whole, together with the actual dechnes shown in the boroughs of
Brooklyn and Richmond, raise the question sharply as to whether good
judgment and due economy have always been observed in the purchase of
land for school purposes. Inquiry among officials famiUar with the pro-
cedure followed in purchasing school sites has elicited the information that
in recent years, at least, it has been almost the universal practice to resort
to condemnation proceedings. This method is not only expensive in it-
self but also tends to eliminate the possibihty of acquiring land upon terms
as favorable as are ordinarily secured in private bargains.
If similar conditions prevail in other parts of the state, it is apparently
true that appreciation in the value of school sites cannot be counted upon
as a naaterial item. The depreciation of school buildings and equipment in
the City of New York in the single year 1921 * was much more than the
total appreciation in the value of all school sites in the city since their orig-
inal acquisition.
» The figure is $2,524,455 as compared with $1,641,298.
^
)
J.
PLANT COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
91
The Adequacy op the School Plant
The statistics of double sessions and part-time enrolments in the schools of
the City of New York, presented on page 119, throw Ught on the inadequacy
of the present physical equipment of the schools. This information is sup-
plemented in an interesting fashion by the tables presented earUer in this
chapter (pages 83-86) showing the dates of construction of school buildings.
The table constructed from data gathered by the Rural School Survey
(page 85) shows that three-eighths of the one- to four-teacher rural school
buildings now in use in the state were constructed before the Civil War.
No less than 48 of the 1,178 one-teacher schools included in the sampling
were built before the year 1825.
In the City of New York there are 6 buildings, a century or more old,
which are still in service. No less than 160 buildings, or 30 per cent ^
of the total number, are more than 50 years old. However, since one-half
of the total number have been constructed since 1896, the average age of
the buildings is considerably less than those in the country districts.
It is not possible from the data available to make a satisfactory state-
ment regarding quaUty of construction of New York school buildings.
In the City of New York, 260 out of a total of 575 buildings (including
certain leased buildings) for which the facts are published, are classed as
C, CD, or D. Class C consists of brick buildings with wooden floor beams,
and Class D is made up of wooden buildings including portables. Seventy-
five out of a recorded total of 567 are constructed of wood ; and 467 are
of brick, or stone, or of stone and brick together.
Table 34 gives the facts concerning types of construction for a large
sampling of school buildings in the state, outside of the City of New York.
TABLE 34
TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN CERTAIN DIS-
TRICTS—STATE OF NEW YORK, REPORTED IN 1922
Clam or District
Pkkcentaob
or Districts
Reporting
Percentaob of Each Exterior Cokstruction Ttpr
Brick
Frame
Stone
Concrete
Block
Fireproof
Cities of Second Class . .
Cities of Third Clflfls . . .
Villages over 4500 . . . .
Union Schools, Four-Year .
Union Schools, Three- Year .
Union Schools, Two-Year .
Union Schools, One- Year
Rural Supervisory ....
71.4
75.5
60.3
54.1
54.7
35.5
45.3
63.5
90.6
88.8
68.0
63.1
22.4
36.4
37.4
7.6
6.3
7.2
24.7
30.7
68.6
54.5
50.0
9L1
1.8
4.1
3.8
3.0
1.3
0.4
1.6
2.4
4.5
4.2
3.1
1.8
1.6
1.5
It is clear that much of the school plant now in service is very old and
distinctly below the standards of construction considered satisfactory.
> That 18. 30 per cent of the 534 owned buildings. Leased buildings are excluded.
CHAPTER VI
THE SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
— AN ANALYSIS OF THE SOURCES
Three-fourths of the funds used to support the system of public educa-
tion in the State of New York are raised by the local pohtical subdivisions
— the school districts, the villages, and the cities. The remainder is
raised by the state, except for a relatively insignificant portion supplied by
the federal government. Practically all of the funds come from taxes.*
The localities depend almost entirely upon the property tax (which in
New York State is practically a tax on real estate), while the state and
the federal government use a variety of taxes. This chapter gives, in the
first place, the amounts of school revenues raised by the local divisions,
the state, and the federal government ; second, explains the manner in
which the state and the federal government participate in the support of
the system; and, third, shows the character of the revenues used to
finance the system. The following chapter, pages 107-115, describes briefly
the system of taxation in force in the State of New York.
Analysis of Support by PoUtical Divisions. — During the period under
review, the figures clearly show a trend toward increased state and
national participation in the support of public education in the state.
While the locahties continue to meet by far the largest portion of the ex-
penses of the school system, with the state second, and the federal govern-
ment an unimportant third, there have been, nevertheless, remarkable dif-
ferences in the rates of increase of the several political divisions. While
local support has increased approximately two and one-half times, state
support has increased five times, and federal ten times. Whereas in 1910
local political divisions supplied 86 per cent of the support, in 1922 they
supplied only 77 per cent. Even with its tenfold increase in twelve years,
the federal share now amounts only to ^ of one per cent of the total
support of public education in the state.
Practically all of the increase in state support has come in the past three
years. It required ten years for the state's contribution to grow from eight to
eleven and one-half miUions. Since 1919, it has grown to forty-one milhons.
This growth is explained by recent state-wide salary increases granted to
teachers, the burden of which was assumed directly by the state treasury.*
* This statement ignores the receipts from borrowings.
« The Lockwood-Donohue bill signed in May. 1920, taking effect in Auguat. 1920, increased teachers*
salaries throughout the state, and established minimum salaries in all public schools of the state. Pre-
92
)
4
SOURCES OF SXJPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
TABLE 35
TOTAL REVENUE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION, CLASSIFIED BY
POLITICAL DIVISIONS SUPPLYING THE FUNDS
For Years Ending July 31, 1910-1922
State and Local — State of New York
93
Yeab
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916 <
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
Local Support*
$49,014,785
51,033,461
57,000,373
62,371,624
63,471,154
66,169,995
67,349,310
70,751,374
77,781,698
85,125,397
97,295,296
119,102,990
138,030,994
State Suppobt>
$8,120,755
8,487,449
9,358,509
9,882,714
9,668,303
10,030,271
9,214,983
10,119,430
10,619,803
11,579,783
17,404,748
39,514,710
41,114,317
FeDEBAL StJPPORT •
$68,000
75,000
80,000
80,000
80,000
116,587
153,484
157,355
339,751
431,168
636,868
672,158 »
670,649
TOTAI.
$57,203,540
59,595,910
66,438,882
72,334,338
73,219,457
76,316,853
76,697,777
81,028,159
88,741,252
97,136,348
115,336,912
159,289,858
179,815,960
City of New York Only
1910
1915
1920
1921
1922
$33,521,451
42,628,765
57,840,587
71,790,794
82,206,195
$1,797,589
2,201,187
5,050,161
17,103,492
17,756,194
$35,319,040
44,829,952
62,947,641
88,943,053
100,069,766
» In 1910, taxes accounted for all but $100,000 of this sum, and in 1921. for all except $637,113 For the
first ten years. It was necessary to estimate the amount of this non-tax. miscellaneous revenue, because the
^rte of the Sute Department of Education include proceeds of temporary loans and other non-revenue
receipt m such a ^»™er that it « mipossible to separate them. The estimate is based on the assumption
Uiat the relationship of the muK^ellaneous revenues to the totel tax revenues was the same in the earlier
years as that which was obtamed in the year 1920, when it was possible to secure a fairly precise separation
of the Items m the state report. ««""u
t This item includes not merely all state appropriations for educational purposes from the general state rev-
enues, but also the mterest on the permanent school fund, the amount of which is shown in Table 39 p 104
r. • . ! '^^ represents federal revenues available for educational purposes in the State of New York*
It mclud«. federal appropriations for colleges of agricultural and mechanic arts, for the "states-relations
service, for vocational rehabilitation, and oodperative vocational work.
* The state's fiscal year was changed at this time so that certain of the figures are for a nine-month
rather than a twelve-month period. -«.c-»ii««mi
» See footnote 6, Table 36, p. 95.
Subventions. — The figures in the preceding section show the sums ^
coUected by the various political divisions for the support of pubUc edu-
viously only cities had such minimum salaries. The increases in the cities ranged from $300 to $600 for reg-
lUar teachers. The increase in state quotas established by this bill was sufficient to pay the increase in
^ ^^*Z^ "***^ '^' * beginning teacher, but not the annual increments. The legislature appropriated
$22,550,000 for carrying out the provisions of the bUl. For further details, see "The New York State
Salary Bill " (summary for the BuiUtin of the University of the State of New York, by Mr Frank B GU-
bert). mSdu>oland S<Kiety, XI. June 6. 1920. pp. 689-€90: also Education Law. July 1. 1922. Section.
4Vi-a and 882-889. and same sections in Education Law. July 1, 1919.
* Loans being disregarded .
94 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
I
I
cation in the State of New York,^ but not all of these moneys were spent
directly for education by the political divisions collecting them. Indeed
all of the smns credited in the table to the federal government, and a large
portion of the sums credited to the state, were distributed to other juris-
dictions before being actually spent. Amounts received by one political
division from some other poUtical division ordinarily appear as receipts in
the accounts of the recipient, involving the possibility of double or even
triple counting. In Table 35 such transfers have not been permitted to
distort the figures. As given, these figures represent the actual revenue
collections of the federal, state, and local governments devoted to the
support of the system of pubUc education in New York. This section
indicates the extent to which the funds of the various political divisions
are transferred to other divisions for expenditure, and explains briefly
the basis upon which such subventions are made. In a later section of
the report ^ material is introduced bearing upon the results of the state
subvention system in actual operation.
Basis of Subventions. — A precise description of the basis upon which
federal and state money is apportioned among the localities is an elaborate
undertaking. The present arrangements are the product of a long history
of piecemeal legislation. The result is chaos. The standards used are
so numerous, and are combined and conditioned in so many diflFerent ways,
that a simple description is exceedingly difficult, and a precise appraisal
of the relative importance of all the different standards is quite out of the
question. It is indeed suggested, at this point, that unless the reader has
a special interest in the details of the subvention problem, he may find
it wise to skip the remainder of this chapter. The material it contains,
however, cannot properly be omitted, since it is essential for any complete
understanding of the fiscal support of pubhc education in the State of
New York.
A description of the manner in which the subventions are made falls
naturally into three parts, as follows :
(a) The basis used by the federal government in distributing funds among the states ;
(6) The basis used by the state in distributing among the local units the portion of
the federal money which it does not itself spend directly ; and
(c) The basis used by the state in distributing its own funds (as contrasted with
federal money) among the local units.
Each will be discussed in turn.
(0) The Federal Basis. — The federal government utilizes the follow-
ing five criteria in apportioning funds among the states for education :
(1) The state per ae;
(2) The ratio of rural population in each state to total rural population of all states ;
> It should be noted that no federal ezpenditurea on strictly federal educational projects are credited
to New York in the figures included in this chapter. a See pp. 162-166.
■
SOURCES OF SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION 95
(3) The ratio of the total population of the state to the total population of all states :
''' states; population of the state to total urban population of aU
(S) The appropriation of similar sums by the states or locaUties.
The criteria used in the distribution of each federal subvention in which
New York shares, and the financial importance of each subvention, are
shown in Table 36. '
TABLE 36
AMOUNT AND BASIS OP FEDERAL SUBVENTIONS FOR EDUCATION
IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921 "^*""«
/
^
SuBVBNnoir
Colleges of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts
(Morrill Act, 1862)
ExpeHment Stations (Hatch Act, 1887)
Cooperative Agrictdtural Extension Work
(chiefly Smith-Lever Act, 1914) «
Vocational Rehabilitation .....
Cooperative Vocational Work (Smith-
Hughes Act, 1917)
In Agriculture
In Trade, Home Economics, and In-
dustry ^
In Vocational Education for Teachers
AuoxrsT Appropriated to
PuBUo Education in the
State by Fed bra u Govern-
MBMT, Year Ending June
30. 1921
$ 50,000
30,000
203,728
74,587 »
48,839 *
212,376*
99,449*
Cbiteria Used as
Basis op Dis-
tribution^
$718,979 «
1
1
2 and 5
3 and 5
2 and 5
4 and 5
3 and 5
1 The figures in thia oolumn refer to the list of criteria appearing on page 97
A^cuit^ ,or the iota. .a^y^^rJ::^L:::'.^i^z^tot^'"^''*' '"■" *"' °"»""'" •*
~hool „po«. for .h, yeir .ndC^Xw l^ "" '^' " *° '*" "' '»"• ""* '"^ » "»
'?tol" a! KltlT/f^^V "T *" "^ '" "^'^ »' cootmuatio. .chool work
wpweatly twice counted X t^T^-L^tlK 'i "k """ °' Wrorimately »16.000 w«
coyeryofU.UduK«p«,cybeci«i1I^t tte^r„ . r°"f " "'"' """ "''"^ "P"" "» ^>-
«t .»!> other .nd.Tw X^ t^^l^? . "! '^'""'''^ """• '»"■«'• "» «"«" ««"<l «« «<>>"er.
til\^ ^ ""^r"^ *^* *•"! ^^^""^ ^^*«°» »f apportioning money among
the states is stiU m a stage of relative simpUcity. The older grants, thc2
96 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
for agricultural colleges (1862) and for experiment stations (1887), are
ii^f the form of a flat amount to each state. The five most recent sub-
ventions ^ all include the "half-and-half" feature which requires that
the states (or locaUties) accepting the federal money shall match the fed-
eral grant, dollar for dollar. In addition all five use population, in some
form, as an additional standard in determining the size of the grant. In
other words, the federal subvention system (so far as the grants are not
flat, equal amounts to each state) aims to apportion the sums in propor-
tion to the size of the task to be performed (population basis) and in a
manner which will stimulate state activity along particular Unes (" half-
and-half " feature).
(6) The State Basis far Distributing Federal Funds. — Part of the fed-
eral money goes directly to certain institutions, not passing through the
hands of the State Department of Education at all ; part is expended
either by the department itself, or by state or private institutions which
receive the money from the state department ; and still a third part is
passed on by the state to schools maintained by local poUtical units.
Of the items appearing in Table 36, the first item of $50,000 goes
to Cornell University, passing through the State Comptroller's office on
the way .2 Of the second item of $30,000, Cornell receives $27,000 and
the State Experiment Station at Geneva $3,000, the money going directly
to these institutions from the Federal Treasury and not passing through
any state office on the way. The third item, $203,728, also a du-ect fed-
eral payment, goes to Cornell University. The State Department of
Education receives the fourth item ($74,587) and makes grants from this
fund to various institutions which provide for the work in vocational re-
habiUtation.
Part of the money received by the state for cooperative vocational work
in agriculture (the fifth item in Table 36) goes to the six special state schools
of agriculture and part to local public schools maintaining approved agri-
cultural courses. For each approved teacher of such subject, in an ap-
proved local school, whose salary is $1,400 or more, $200 is given, and in
addition a sum equal to two-thirds of the amount by which the salary ex-
ceeds the $1,400 minimum. The total given for any one teacher, however,
is limited to $866.66.
The federal money for cooperative vocational work in trade, home eco-
nomics, and industry (next to last item in table) is granted subject to the
condition that at least one-third must be expended for part-time or con-
tinuation schools.
The basis used by the state in distributing the money to the part-time
» All of these grants have been established in the past ten years, beginning with the Smith-Lever Act
of 1914.
« $30,000 goes to the University as such and $20,000 specifically to the College of Agriculture in the
University.
SOURCES OP SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
97
\
)
i
or continuation schools is a double one: There is, first, the supervision
quota, which consists of two-thirds of the salary in excess of $1,500 (limit
of quota, $1,000) of a full-time supervisor;^ in the second place, there is a
quota for cities and districts not employing a supervisor which consists
of a sum equal to two-thirds of such part of the salary paid to one teacher *
as is in excess of $1,500 (maximum $1,000). The basis of the distribution
to unit trade schools (as distinguished from part-time or continuation
schools) is teachers' salaries once more, but in this case nothing is given
toward the expenses of supervision, and the subvention of federal money
is arranged so as to supplement the $1,000 grant of state money ' to the
extent necessary to insure the payment, from these sources combined, of
two-thirds of the total salary of the teachers of trade and related subjects.
All of the federal grant for teacher training cooperative vocational work,
the last item in the table, is spent directly by the state without distribu-
tion to the local units.
It is clear that, in so far as the state redistributes to localities the money
it receives from the federal government, it does so on the basis of sharing
salary costs of teachers and supervisors of special subjects. It is a plan
of distribution designed primarily to stimulate the development of particu-
lar portions of the educational program.
(c) The State Basis for Distributing State Funds. — The system of dis-
tributing state moneys has passed through a long evolution. As early as
1786 the state estabUshed the so-called " literature fund " to aid in financ-
ing academic departments for the training of teachers. The " common-
school fund " was first set up in 1805, the first distributions being made in
1814. The proceeds from these two funds, together with those of the
" United States Deposit Fund," established in 1837 from distributions
from the national surplus, supplied from ten to twenty per cent of the
common school revenues during the first half of the nineteenth century.*
In addition to the distributions of the proceeds of these permanent school
funds, the state continuously since 1851 * has apportioned to the localities
money raised by general state taxes, and has increased such tax-money
grants to a point where they now quite overshadow the distributions from
the permanent funds.
No less than thirteen different criteria are now used in distributing state
school money to the local units. They are :
> It is necessary that the district or city employing the supervisor shall employ four or more teaches
for the instruction of part-time pupils and shall pay such teachers' salaries which amoimt to a sum at least
twice as great as the supervision quota.
* This teacher must devote full time to the instruction of part-time pupib and to the coordination of the
work of such part-time pupils with the instruction.
* See p. 100, footnote 7.
* T. E. Finegan, " Free Schools, 15th Annual Report of the Education Department. New York, 1919 ";
F, H. Swift, •• History of Public Permanent Common School Funds in the United States, 1795-1905 " ;
S. S. Randall, " Common School System of the State of New York, 1851."
> Such distributions were also made for the period 1795-1800.
98 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
(1) The school district per se;^
(2) The employment of a superintendent ;
(3) The number of licensed teachers employed ;
(4) The population of the district;
(5) The assessed valuation of property of the district;
(6) The maintenance of a high school ; * »
(7) The number of non-resident students ' attending the high school;
(8) The aggregate daily attendance in the high school ;
(9) The maintenance of a teachers' training class ;
(10) Aggregate daily attendance in training schools;
(11) Amount spent for books, apparatus, etc. ;
(12) Length of school term ;
(13) Salary of teachers.
Which of these criteria apply to each state " quota " and the relative
financial importance of the quotas are shown in Table 37.
Table 37, elaborate as it is, throws very little light either upon the rel-
ative hnportance in actual practice of the various criteria or upon the
theory uj)on which the criteria were selected.
District Quota * . . . .
Teachers* Quota ....
Additional Teachers' Quota ^
Total
Aifouirrs Distrib-
UTKD ON Basis op
Flat Amount peb
Tbachbr
$1,292,375
4,665,159
10,899,400
$16,856,934
Amount or Distri-
BimoNB Appbcted
BT THB Assessed
VAiiUB OP Propertt
AND THE POPUIATION
$215,750
15,556,265
$15,772,015
> This division was made by assigning to the first column the minimum amount. $125. for each district,
and all the rest to the second colimin.
» The tables of the State Department show a total of 65,732 teachers for 1920-1921. Deducting the 610
physical traming teachers and the 625 vocational teachers on account of which no additional quotas are al-
lowed, the figure of 54,497 is obtained. Multiplying by $200. the minimum grant, the figure of $10 899 400
given above, is obtained. ' ' *
Three of the quotas — the "district quota," the "teachers' quota,"
and the "additional teachers' quota" —taken together, account for
$32,628,949 or 91 per cent of the total state subventions. This entire
sum goes to pay teachers' salaries.* The conditions are imposed that
licensed teachers must be employed at least 180 days per year to secure
the full quota and that annual reports must be rendered, but these
(the sole criteria directly affecting standards which are used in distrib-
» Subject to the qualification that no district quoU is given when the district does not either employ a
teacher or contract with some other district for the education of its pupils.
» Not only the maintenance of an academic department (high school), but also the number of years
of mstruction offered in such department, are taken into account.
» That is, students from districts not maintaining an academic department, or from districts maintaining
one which does not offer a full four-year curriculum.
♦With the negligible exception that in "contracting" districts, the "District Quota" may be uatd
for purjxMes of transportation and tuition.
i
)
i
be
SOURCES OF SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
99
uting these three quotas) are of such slight importance that they can be
ignored, especially since partial quotas are often given when a teacher is
employed for a shorter period.^
The table on page 98 presents an estimate of the extent to which the
allotment of these three quotas depends on population and the assessed
value of property. It appears that less than half of the total subvention is
TABLE 37
AMOUNT AND BASIS OF STATE SUBVENTIONS FOR EDUCATION —
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1922
Subvention
Common School Fund
District Quota •
Supervisory Quota *
Teachers' Quota*
Additional Teachers' Quota* . .
Vocational Quota '
Physical Training Quota * . . .
Teachers' Expenses at Conferences
Supplementary Apportionment • .
Indian Schools *®
Total
Amounts Appor-
tioned DURING
Year Ending
July 31. 1922 ^
Academic Fund
Academic Quota "
Non-resident Tuition " ...
Grants for Books and Apparatus "
Grants to Sectarian Academies "
Total
Training Classes and Schools " . .
Grand Total"
$ 1,508,125
94,400
4,665,159
26,455,665
946,116
365,467
174,191
9,209
15,900
$34,234,232
$540,200
853,756
125,000
5,987
$1,524,943
90,000
$35,849,175
Criteria Used
AS Basis or
Distributiok'
1 and 5
2 and 4
3 and 12
3, 4, 5, and 1
3, 12, and 13
3, 12, and 13
7
3, 6, and 11
8
9 and 10
» The amounts shown in this column were apportioned during the year indicated. Certain small amounts
were not actually paid to the districts in the period. The apportionment is based upon an appropriation
made in the year 1921, as reported for that year.
« The numbers in this column refer to the list of criteria given on p. 97.
• The detailed distribution of thw quota was as follows :
911 districts, assessed valuation less than SIO.OOO, @ $200 $182,200
2,085 districts, assessed valuation $20,000 to $40,000, @ $175 364,875
1.727 districts, assessed valuation $40,000 to $60,000, @ $150 259,050
5.616 districts, assessed valuation over $60,000, @ $125 702,000
^®'^^ $1,508,125
« $800 to each district with a population of 4,500 or more employing a whole-time superintendent. The
amount was apportioned to 59 cities and to 59 villages.
» $100 for every teacher, after the first in each district, employed for at least 180 fuU days. Districts with
only one teacher do not share in this quota, the "district quota" (cf. note 3 above) being considered a
grant for the first teacher.
• From $200 to $600 per teacher (employed for at least 180 full days) for salary increases, the amount
varymg directly (but irregularly) with the population and inversely with amount of the assessed value of
property. The results are indicated in the following statement :
» Partial quotas are granted if a satisfactory reason is given for failure to maintain school for the legal
term or when new classes are formed or positions are abolished.
100 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
affected by these basic factors in the financial problem. Further discus-
sion of this important question is presented in Chapter XII, pp. 162-166.
Ttp. or D»TB,CT ^SSTTZc^Sr
(o) One-teacher districts, assessed valuation over SIOO.OOO $200
One-teacher districts, assessed valuation of 99,000 203
One-teacher districts, assessed valuation of 98,000 206
(etc. adding $3. for each $1,000 decrease in assessed valuation)
(6) Districts with two or more teachers but no academic department 300
(e) Districts maintaining academic departments, villages under su-
perintendents, and all cities except those specified 350
(d) Albany. Schenectady, Troy (including Lansingburg), Utioa,
Binghamton, and Niagara Falls ^5q
(e) Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers, Moimt Vernon, New
Rochelle, White Plains, Lackawanna mq
CO City of New York ...'.'.'.'...... 600
The statement made above that the grant varies directly (but irregularly) with the population is based
on the form of the law which classifies the grants roughly according to the classes of cities and the districts.
However, it is a fact that, while in cUss (o) (the one-teacher districts) the amount of the grant increases
as the assessed valuation decreases, the reverse principle applies for the other classes; that is, in general,
the amount of the grant increases as the assessed values increase. This is shown by the following figures
of per-capita real estate assessments for 1920 :
Class (c) Middle Cass
Union School Districts . . $829
Villages over 4.500 . . . 860
Cities except those specified 892
Class ((f)
Albany, Schenectady, etc. . $1,160-1,081
Class (e)
Buffalo. Rochester, etc. . . 1,560-1,420
Class if)
City of New York . . . 1,632
Thus a single quota subsidises the very rich and the very poor local units more heavily than the moder-
ately rich districts.
» Vocational and agricultural quotas; part-time and continuation school and evening vocational quotas
The state pays two-thirds of the salary paid the first teacher, but not more than $1,000. and one-half the
salary of each additional teacher, but not to exceed $1,000 for each teacher for full year of 180 days for
each separately organised vocational school. This item of $946,116 also includes the so-called " Director of
Agriculture Quota." which covers one-half of the salary paid, not to exceed $600. All money distrib-
uted comes from the state and none from the federal government.
• The state pays one-half of the saUry of a licensed physical training teacher, but not to exceed $600
• This is an adjustment because of items not included in the original apportionment.
»• The state pays $150 for each teacher in the Indian schools.
" $200 for each year of academic instruction to a school maintaining an academic department (high
school) and for each year of high school work in a non-sectarian private academy.
w $50 for each non-resident pupil from a district which does not maintain an academic department at
all, or one which offers less than the four-year curriculum. In the Utter case the student must complete
such work as is offered in his local high school before the tuition becomes avaiUble.
" Amounts which vary from year to year depending upon the available funds up to a maximum of $250
to each high school maintained by a city, to each union free school district maintaining an academic de-
partment, and to each non-sectarian private academy ; $18 to each school district, including cities, plus $2
for each licensed teacher employed for the legal term. This quota is contingent upon the expenditure of
like sums by the localities.
I! I?^ f ""' " distributed on the basis of aggregate daily attendance of academic pupils.
!• $700 for each academy and union free school district maintaining a training class in accordance with
the state requirements. To secure the full quota of $700 the class must contain at least ten students ia
attendance. The remainder of the appropriation is given to training schools on the basis of aggregate
attendance. The durtnct or city also receives the " Teachers' Quota " and the "Additional Teachers*
Quota for each teacher employed for the legal term in the training classes and schools
«• Effective for the first time in 1922. there is. in addition to all of the grants here listed, a new one called
the Americamsation Quota." or " Quota for Immigrant Education." The state pays one-half of the saUry
of each teacher of immigrants, not to exceed $1,000. This quota involves the use of criteria 3. 12 and 13
1
SOURCES OF SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
101
I
i
)
Amounts of Subventions. — In Table 38 are shown the sums supplied
by the federal and state governments toward the support of pubhc edu-
cation in the state, analyzed to indicate the inter-treasury transfers.
Thus the first column shows the sums which the federal government
granted the state * and which were expended without being passed on to
the local pohtical divisions, such as the appropriations for colleges of agri-
cultural and mechanic arts* and appropriations under the states-relations
service.
The second column gives the sums which the federal government granted,
but which were merely passed on by the state to the localities, for expen-
diture. The only appropriations of this class are those for vocational
education.
The third column gives the sums of state money granted to the locahties.
Column four gives the sums of state money spent by the state in car-
rjdng out functions connected with the system of public education.
The last column presents a figure which represents the total amount of
assistance * to the localities, whether in terms of money given or functions
taken over and performed by the state.
These figures make it possible to correct an impression which might
otherwise be thought to flow naturally from the facts presented in Table
35,* namely, that the increased importance of the element of state support
in the financing of the school system indicates a corresponding encroach-
ment upon local autonomy in school administration. Table 38 supphes
evidence that such is not the case. Moneys given outright ' to the lo-
calities by the state have increased sevenfold, while the sums spent by the
state directly on education have less than doubled. It will be recalled
that during this period the total cost of education trebled. In other
words, while the state now raises a larger share of the total school
funds and the locahties tax themselves for a smaller share than was the
case twelve years ago, the per cent the state spends directly is grow-
ing smaller.
Analysis of Support by Fiscal Nature of the Sources. — Table 39 shows
that taxes suppUed approximately ninety-nine per cent of all the revenues
both in 1910 and in 1922. The nature of the tax system which produced
this revenue is described later (pp. 107-115).
« No attempt has been made to allocate to New York State an arbitrary proportion of the expenditures
made directly by the federal government in carrying out its own peculiar educational functions.
« The phrase "granted the state" is not interpreted so as to exclude funds which do not pass physically
through the sUte treasury or the State Department of Education. See p. 96.
» Assistance is here used in the sense of moneys raised rather than expenditures made.
« See p. 93.
• It is true, of course, that the increased state subventions of recent years are definitely dedicated to
teachers' salaries and in so far as this operates as a restriction upon the disposal of the money, it may pos-
sibly be termed an impairment of local autonomy. However, the state does give the money to the localities,
subject to this one restriction as to its use, leaving the locality the same degree of freedom as before ia'
organising and administering its school system.
102 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE 38
FEDERAL AND STATE SUBVENTIONS FOR SUPPORT OF PUBLIC
EDUCATION — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1910-1922
For Years Ending July 31
Yaib
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916*
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
Federal Grants
FOR Education in
New York Pass-
ing TO Other
Agencies than
THE Local School
Systems
$68,000
75,000
80,000
80,000
80,000
166,587
133,484
157,355
339,751
431,168
521,261
551,759 »
417,352
Federal Grants
for Education in
New York Pas»-
iNG to Local
School Systems >
None
11
tt
ti
n
€t
tt
tt
tt
tt
State Grants to
Localities *
$115,607
120,399 »
253,297
$ 5,296,569
5,446,152
6,588,466
6,760,796
6,769,106
6,077,844
6,291,640
7,716,220
6,897,001
7,731,190
12,584,572
33,498,506
36,849,784
Other State
Revenue Ex-
pended BY
State for
Education »
$ 2,284,186
2,667,603
3,770,043
4,121,918
3,899,197
3,952,427
2,923,343
2,403,210
3,722,802
3,848,593
4,820,176
6,016,204
4,264,533
Total
$ 8,188,755
8,562,449
9,438,509
9,962,714
9,748,303
10,146,858
9,348,467
10,276,785
10,959,554
12,010,951
18,041,616
40,186,868
41,784,966
» The figures in this column represent amounts acknowledged as coming from federal sources in the
reports of the local school systems. A small amount of money was received by the localities in the year
1918-1919. but the form of report for that year did not call for a segregation of the amount. The following
account of the federal money for cofiperative vocational work Is of interest in this connection. It should
be considered in the light of the explanation on pages 94-97 regarding distributions of funds. Expendi-
tures appearing in this table for a given year are not accounted for in the reports of the local school systems
until the following year.
RECEIPTS
■ (Fiscal Years Ending Junb 30, 1917-1922)
Agricultural Education ....
Trade, Industrial, and Home Eco-
nomics
Teacher Training
Total
1917-1918
f 19,535.60
84,950.35
49.724.44
S154.210.39
1918-1919
$ 29.303.40
127,425.53
69.614.21
8226.343.14
1919-1980
8 39.071.20
169.900.71
89,503.99
8298,475.90
1990-1981
8 48.839.00
212,375.87
99.448.88
8360.663.75
1991-1988
8 53.390.89
239.184.56
98.650.39
8391.225.84
EXPENDITURES
Agricultural Education ....
Trade. Industrial, and Home Eco-
nomics
Teacher Training . . , . . .
Total
8 19,535.60
67.804.74
28,163.92
8115.504.26
8 18,679.52
94,818.64
45,991.84
8159,490.00
8 31.511.54
83,911.57
75,637.83
8191,060.94
8 48,839.00
212,375.87
99,242.45
8360,457.32
8 52,390.89
239,184.56
98,650.39
8390,225.84
» These figures represent what the localities report as having received from the State Treasury and do not
include the amounts withheld by the Department for the Retirement Fund. Because of differences in
fiscal years, the figures do not check exactly with those of the State Comptroller, which represent the
actual state distributions.
» Since the figures in this column are obtained by subtracting the state subventions as given in the
preceding column from the total as given in the last column, there will be discrepancies with the Comp-
troller's figures for reasons explained in footnote 2.
* The state's fiscal year was changed at this time so that certain of the sUte figures are for a nine-month
rather than a twelve-month period.
• See footnote 6, Table 36, p. 95.
1
4/
s
)
t
r
SOURCES OF SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
103
The second column, headed " Permanent Funds," shows the proceeds
of the three state permanent school funds. ^ These proceeds represent the
actual yield of interest on these funds which are invested for the most part
in bonds of the local municipaUties of the state. The yield has increased
only shghtly during the period. A similar additional item, interest on other
educational funds, is included in the "Miscellaneous" total of column
three. This item in 1920 amounted to $83,282 out of the total of $781,125
shown in the table. This column also includes aU educational fees from
the normal schools, from the College of the City of New York, and from
Hunter College, from the State Department of Education, and from com-
mon schools, except the tuition of non-resident pupils paid by pubUc au-
thorities. These fees make up the bulk of the figures. An insignificant
item of gifts is also included in column three. The growth of the " Mis-
cellaneous " group is explained almost entirely by the increase in fees charged
in recent years by the higher educational institutions.
The description of the precise r61e played by loans in state school finance
is a task which offers some difficulties. The presentation of the book-
keeping item of receipts from the sale of bonds and from short-term loans,
the allotments to sinking funds, the repayment of bonds and other loans,
and the payment of interest, involves possibiHties of double coimting and
of a distorted view of what the true importance of loan poHcy has been.
The last column in Table 39 throws considerable Ught on the situation.
It represents the amount by which the school system has " fallen behind " *
each year. The item " Total Revenues " includes no receipts from loans
and that of "Total Expenditures" includes no repayments of loans, by
sinking fund or otherwise, but does include all interest payments, the
amounts of which are shown in Table 1, page 30. The last column, headed
"Balance," consequently shows the difference between what the school
authorities spent in both current expenses and capital outlay and what they
received from all sources except borrowings.
It appears from these figures that, taking the thirteen-year period as a
whole, the aggregate revenue, as defined above, failed to cover the aggre-
gate expenditure including capital outlay by $63,310,797. This difference
was made good by resort to credit in various forms. For the first six years
of the period the accumulated debit balances amount to 22 millions
($22,019,103) ; during the second six years the figure is 25 millions
($25,073,245).
For several reasons these figures cannot be expected to agree precisely
year by year with the figures of receipts from bonds sold or with the figures
of increases in outstanding bonds. Part of the difference is accounted for
by temporary loans. The receipts from bond sales appear in these figures
1 See p. 97.
t In the sense, merely, that current receipts have been insufficient to cover e^>enditures.
104 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
only as they are expended. There are also various refunding operations which
would distort comparisons.
TABLE 39
TOTAL REVENUE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING
TO FISCAL CHARACTER OF THE SOURCES — STATE OF NEW
YORK, 1910-1922
For Years Ending July 31
Year
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916*
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
Taxes*
(Federal,
State, and
Local)
$56,679,512
59,046,272
66,864,802
71,769,979
72,592,560
75,681,646
76,103,784
80,269,002
87,877,619
96,067,470
114,138,491
158,130,246
178,038,706
Permanent
Funds » (In-
terest)
MlSCELLANB-
ocs (Includes
Tuition, Gifts,
AND Certain
Interest
Items) *
Total
Revenues
Total
Expenditures*
$359,299
380,784
370,591
359,120
386,742
390,382
290,728
407,487
409,112
408,411
417,296
382,403
408,414
$164,729
168,854
203,489
205,239
240,155
244,825
303,265
351,670
454,521
660,487
781,125
777,209
1,368,840
$57,203,540
59,595,910
67,438,882
72,334,338
73,219,457
76,316,853
76,697,777
81,028,159
88,741,252
97,136,348
115,336,912
159,289,858
179,815,960
$59,626,228
62,283,177
68,737,101
72,039,243
80,600,659
84,841,675
80,118,748
81,859,971
89,799,439
98,701,237
117,344,153
175,480,003
196,034,409
Balancb
(Debit — •
Credit)
-$2,422,688
- 2,687,267
- 1,298,219
-h 295,095
- 7,381,202
- 8,524,822
- 3.420,971
- 831,812
- 1,058,187
- 1,564,889
- 2,007,241
-16,190,145
-16,218,449
»For a subdivision of this column, see Table 41. p. 107. The item of local taxes consists almost
entirely of property taxes levied and collected locally for school purposes. It contains, however, a small
amount of receipts for mortgage and bank stock taxes, and. in 1921. a small amount of income Ux.
« This represents the proceeds of the three permanent school funds which are distributed among the
local districts.
•This includes tuition and fees from normal schools. State Department of Education, and common
schools (not mcludmg tuition of non-resident pupUs paid by the sUte or districts), gifts for educational
purposes, and interest on educational funds other than the state permanent funds. The interest item is
negli^ble Under the classification used in the education reports, the local miscellaneous revenues, other
than f^ from the Colte^ of the City of New York and Hunter College, are not separately shown and
have been estimated. The larger receipts from the fees of the two colleges mentioned account for much of
the mcrease shown m this item in recent years.
♦Total state and local expenditures are the siun of such expenditures reported by the state and local
officials, respectively, with the exception of the state subventions reported by the State Comptroller. Since
the subvention Item appeanng in this table is that reported by local officials and sometimes varies from the
amount reported by the Comptroller, the sum of state and local expenditures, less the subvention items,
will not always check precisely with the sum of state and local expenditures here given.
The term Total Expenditures" includes capital outlay, interest, and current expenses, but excludes
transfers, refunds, payment on bonds and temporary loans, and payments to such funds, and other non-
governmental cost payments.
•The state's fiscal year was changed at this time so that certain of the state figures are for a nine-month
rather than a twelve-month period.
Table 40 gives the gross outstanding bonded indebtedness for each year
m the period, together with the annual variations in the amount. It
will be observed that the increase in 1922 over 1910 is $85,853,843.
The difference between this figure and the $63,310,797 is explained largely
by unexpended cash balances at the end of 1922.
I
/
\
)
n
i
(
SOURCES OF SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION 105
TABLE 40
TOTAL GROSS OUTSTANDING BONDED INDEBTEDNESS ^ FOR
EDUCATION — STATE OF NEW YORK,^ 1910-1922
Year
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
Gross OuTSTAm)iNo Bonded In-
debtedness FOR Education
$135,981,844
135,881,110
139,845,165
143,381,744
156,551,007
162,292,016
161,755,973
166,989,723 »
165,151,583
165,942,841 »
169,054,408
186,171,173
221,835,687
Net Annual Increases (-f-)
OR Decreases (— )
-$ 100,734
+ 3,964,055
+ 3,536,579
+ 13,169,263
+ 5,741,009
- 536,043
-I- 5,233,250
- 1,837,640
+ 791,258
+ 3,111,567
+ 17,116,765
+ 35,664,574
» Because of the difficulty of allocating to education its proper proportion of the total sinking fund in
certain of the cities, and because of the inadequacy of the records in the case of certain districts, it proved
impracticable to reduce this gross debt to a net basis. In the rural districts sinking funds are abnost non-
existent, the practice of issuing serial bonds being practically universal.
« The figures for the City of New York are for the calendar year in each case. Other figures are for the
year ending July 31.
» In the years 1917 and 1919 the debt outside of the City of New York was arrived at by adding to the
figure for outstanding bonded indebtedness for the year preceding, the receipts from bond sales for that
year and subtracting the pajrments on bonds.
About two-thirds of the total bonded debt for schools has been incurred
by the City of New York. In 1920 New York's share of the 169 miUions
of bonded debt was $126,652,938. Other cities in the state had incurred
$29,300,000. A scant 13 miUions was borrowed by the smaller political
divisions. The relative importance of the school debt of the City of New
York has declined materially during the past twelve years. This is ex-
plained in large part by the relatively small capital outlay in the city during
this period.^
» The share of the City of New York in the total state school debt is shown by the following figures.
Amount op School
Percentage or
YEiUt
Debt of the City
Total State
of New York
School Debt
1910
$118,476,386
87.12%
1911
117,613,273
86.55
1912
119,322.849
85.32
1913
123.649,848
86.24
1914
126.770,890
80.98
1915
130,986,509
80.71
1916
128.257.208
79.29
1917
128.989,723
77.24
1918
127.828.114
77.40
1919
126.942,841
76.50
1920
126.652,938
74.92
1921
137,160.824
73.67
1922
152.000,000
68.53
1 -111 in^MiiBiiii^itti^li
►! i
1
I i
11
J
i
•/ I
106 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Although complete and precise information is not available, it is certain
that only an inconsiderable fraction of the school debt is unfunded. The
imbonded portion in 1920, for example, is reported at less than one million
dollars, but this does not include figures for certain cities where the un-
funded educational debt is not segregated in the accoimts from the total
temporary debt of the mimicipahties. If the ratio of such school tempo-
rary debt to the funded debt is similar in these cities to the ratio in the
municipaUties where educational debt is fully segregated, the aggregate
amount of temporary debt is relatively unimportant. It will be noted from
Table 40 that the bonded debt in 1920 stood at 169 miUions.
School bonds may be legally issued in the State of New York only for
refunding ^ and for capital outlay. During the thirteen years studied the
total capital outlay was nearly twice the increase in bonded indebtedness
($85,853,843 as compared with $153,942,157). This does not mean, of
course, that there were no specific instances of refunding. It does indicate,
however, that during the thirteen-year period, 1910 to 1922, the aggregate
current receipts for school purposes from all sources, other than borrowing,
were sufficient to meet all current expenses, meet all interest charges, and
pay for about one-half of the new sites, buildings, and equipment acquired
during that period.
* Under the authority of subdivision 8 of section 877 of the Education Law certain clanes of cities
"may temporarily borrow the amoimt" necessary to meet special estimates submitted by the board of
education, covering items for extraordinary expenses by means of "city certificates of indebtedness or by
the issuance of revenue bonds, or other municipal bonds." The provisions of the city charters appear to
supplement this section in some instances so as to give authority for the refunding of securities issued as
temporary measures. Thus it is possible that in some oases bonds have been issued under special cir-
cumstances for purposes other than capital outlay.
)
-I
CHAPTER VII
THE SUPPORT OF PUBUC EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK —
THE REVENUE SYSTEM
The preceding chapter makes it clear that $99 out of each $100 spent for
pubHc education in the state (disregarding borrowings) are raised by tax-
ation. The 100th dollar is supplied by income from permanent state
school funds, tuition, fees, and interest on miscellaneous funds.
Taxes for education are analyzed in Table 41 to show the amounts
raised by various political divisions. Since federal funds for education
account for less than one-half of one per cent of the total amount, it is un-
necessary at this point to attempt any description of the federal revenue
system. State taxes supply roughly twenty-five per cent, and local taxes
seventy-five per cent, of the total school tax revenue. This section sketches
briefly the system of state and local revenue which produced this 177 mil-
lion dollars for school purposes in 1922 as well as 386 million dollars of
taxes in addition for other public purposes.
TABLE 41
TOTAL TAXES FOR EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL DIVISIONS,* 1910-1922
For Years Ending July 31
Ybar
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916*
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
Federal Funds
I 68,000
75,000
80,000
80,000
80,000
116,587
133,484
157,355
339,751
431,168
636,868
672,158
670,649
State Taxes
$ 7,696,727
8,037,811
8,909,429
9,443,355
9,191,406
9,545,064
8,820,990
9,610,273
10,089,170
11,012,905
16,824,425
38,992,211
40,421,534
Local Taxes
% 48,914,785
50,933,461
57,875,373
62,246,624
63,321,154
66,019,995
67,149,310
70,501,374
77,448,698
84,623,397
96,677,198
118,465,877
136,946,523
Total
$ 56,679,512
59,046,272
66,864,802
71,769,979
72,592,560
75,681,646
76,103,784
80,269,002
87,877,619
96,067,470
114,138,491
158,130,246
178,038,706
« For the precise contents of these figures, see footnotes to Table 35, p. 93, and Table 39, p 104
• The state's fiscal year was changed at this time so that certain of the state figures are for a nine-month
rather than a twelve-month period.
107
II
ii
108 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The revenue system of New York as it now stands, consists of nine major
taxes which may be grouped as follows :
Group One — (Property Taxes). Tax on real estate and certain types of personal
property.
Group Two — (Personal Taxes). Personal income tax.
Group Three — (Business Taxes). Business corporation income tax, bank stock tax,
stock transfer tax, miscellaneous corporation taxes.
Group Four — (Miscellaneous). Motor vehicle tax, inheritance tax, mortgage tax.
The administration and distribution of these various taxes are inter-
woven in rather a compUcated manner. Diagram 6 shows the amounts
yielded in 1922 by each of the nine taxes, the division of yield among the
poUtical divisions, and the authority collecting the taxes.
The outstanding fact is that the property tax yields nearly three times
as much as the other eight taxes put together. Not only is it the tax which
suppUes three-fourths of all the tax revenue of the state and locaUties,
but it is also the tax which is depended upon almost exclusively for school
taxes. Consequently, it is desirable to describe somewhat precisely its
character and its place in the revenue system.
The Property Tax. — The present property tax is predominately a real
estate tax. The State of New York in earlier times, like almost all of the
American states, attempted to impose a tax on property in general for the
support of government in general. Much earlier than in most other states
this tax began to disintegrate, and steps began to be taken to supplement
it with taxes of other types. The development took the form of exemp-
tion of those types of property which had proved most difficult to assess,
and the substitution of special taxes, designed to reach more effectively the
tax-paying abiUty of the owners of the exempted property. Coincident
with this movement there developed a tendency to impose taxes upon the
business done in the state and to establish certain special taxes upon direct
beneficiaries, such as the motor vehicle fees.^ The evolution is still going
on, and important changes are anticipated in the years lying immediately
ahead.
In reducing the scope of the general property tax, and establishing sub-
stitutes, the state has followed the general rule of diverting all or a large part
of the proceeds of the new taxes into its own treasury and decreasing its de-
mands upon the property tax.^ As a result of this movement the property
tax is now 98 per cent ' a real estate tax and is 94 per cent * a local tax.
» The system of local special assessments of land, to meet the cost of public improvements, is an im-
portant element in the finances of the municipalities, of which no account is taken in the figures as given
in this section.
« See p. 157.
» In 1920 personalty amounted to only 1.72 per cent of the total assessed value of property. In 1870
it amounted to 22.05 per cent.
« In 1922. of $431,412,733 total property tax levied in the state. aU except t23.892.350 went to the
localities.
REVENUE SYSTEM
109
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II
110 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The property, other than real estate, which continues to be taxed under
the property tax, is a mere remnant. It includes such personalty as farm
animals and machinery, the stock-in-trade of unincorporated businesses
and household furniture and personal eff^ts of individuals in excess of
$1,000.1 Such property was assessed in 1920 at only a quarter of a biUion
dollars ($255,263,116) ^ out of a total property assessment of nearly 16 biUion
($15,850,989,607). In 1922, a legislative committee recommended the en-
tire exemption of personalty which would result in the property tax being
transformed into a tax on real estate only.*
Classified as real estate, and subject to the regular property tax rates,
an item is included in the various local assessment rolls representing the
value of the " special franchises " of the pubhc utihties of various types.
This item (which is assessed by the State Tax Commission and apportioned
among the locahties for insertion in the assessment lists) covers first, the
value of such tangible property of these companies as is situated in the
public streets, and, second, the value of certain intangible elements in the
franchise which are determined usually with reference to the earning power
of the corporations. The importance of property taxes on public utihties
can be gauged from the following statement of property taxes collected
from pubhc utihties in 1920 :
Real property (in ordinary sense) $25,104,965
Personal property 229 683
Special franchise (technically termed "real estate")
Tangible (property in streets, etc.) $9,435,385
Intangible (based on earning power) 5,449,884 14,885,269
$40,219,917
This special franchise tax on pubhc utilities has a pecuhar significance
from the point of view of school finance. The value of the special fran-
chise is apportioned for purposes of taxation among the local political
subdivisions where the property of the utihties hes. It is clear that, at
least in so far as the intangible element in the valuation is concerned, the
special franchise tax is not a true real estate tax, but rather approaches
the character of a business tax and that the arrangement has the effect of
distributing a state business tax among the locahties. The method of dis-
tribution is such that a school district which happens to have a railroad
passing through it, receives what is virtually a special subsidy from the
state in the form of this additional taxable assessment. This accentuates
a situation which is already unequal. The Davenport Legislative Com-
» The tangible personalty of corporations which pay the capital stock tax (see Section 205 of the Tax
Law) remains subject to taxation for local purposes.
« There is reason for believing that the smallness of this figure is due not merely to legal exemptions, but
also, to Ulegal undervaluation and evasion. (See " Report of the Special Joint Committee on Taxation and
Retrenchment, Submitted March 1, 1922," p. 43.)
» See pp. 45-46 in Report cited in note 2 above.
REVENUE SYSTEM
111
r
)
mittee ^ has reconunended an entirely new method of taxing pubhc utihties
which, if adopted, will fundamentally change this situation. It should be
noted that there is a tendency to value these special franchises fully —
perhaps even to over- rather than under-assess them.
The state's share of the property tax is one which varies from ^ear to
year, depending upon the exigencies of the state's fiscal needs. This tax
provides the elastic element in the state's revenue system. The rates of the
income, business, and miscellaneous taxes are seldom changed and the yields
depend upon considerations not at all identical with those which determine
the size of the legislative appropriations. When the appropriations ex-
ceed the prospective revenue from sources other than the property tax, a
sum sufficient to meet the situation is ordinarily obtained by a state-wide
tax on property as locally assessed, after an equalization based upon in-
formation gathered by the State Tax Conmiission. In the period under
consideration a state tax on property has been utilized in ten out of the
thirteen years. The highest levy of the period was $35,006,523.91, made
in 1920.2 The receipts from these direct property taxes during the ten-
year period 1911-1920 amounted to 19 per cent of the total state receipts
for general purposes.'
It should be made clear that the amounts supphed by state taxes, as
shown in Table 41, are paid from the state's general fund, which is derived
from many sources. They are by no means the specific product of certain
particular state taxes, whose entire yields are dedicated to educational
purposes alone. It is true that during the fifty-year period, 1851-1901,
a special state school tax was imposed — a levy on property. Since 1901
no specific tax for school purposes has been imposed by the state, the only
close approach to specific school taxes being the levies used since 1920 for
state-wide increases in teachers' salaries. These levies are often popularly
referred to as direct school taxes. The funds for these salary increases have
come from a direct state property tax which has been alluded to in some of
the records and reports as a specific school tax. There appears to have
* " Report of the Special Joint Committee on Taxation and Retrenchment. Submitted March 1, 1922,"
p. 92 et seq. The Rural School Survey has based its recommendation of a larger school district in part
upon the greater equality which would result from distributing the public utility franchise valuations over
a larger area. Report, 1922, p. 234.
* The amounts of the state "direct" tax on property were as follows:
1910 . . . none 1914 . . . none 1918 . . . $13,272,069.00
. . $20,519,715.51 1919 . . . 13,523.503.27
. . none 1920 . . . 35,006,523.91
. . $13,058,752.65 1921 .
1922 .
1911
1912
1913
none
$6,072,766.48
11,022,985.91
6.460,093.12
1915
1916
1917
22,340.343.66
31.508,336.29
Because the fiscal year of the City of New York covers a different period from that of the state fiscal year
the figure of levies actually extended on the rolls by the localities does not agree precisely with the levy
figures as given above. The 1922 figure is for levies extended on the rolls. The actual collections re-
ported in the State Comptroller's Report differ from either of these because the levy is not all collected
the same year.
' " Report of the Special Joint Conuuittee on Taxation and Retrenchment, Submitted March 1, 1922,"
p. 39.
[i
ii
112 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
been no statutory authority for considering this a special school tax. It
is true, however, that it was clearly understood by the legislators, and by
the proponents of the bill, that the increases in teachers' salaries would
involve an addition to the state direct tax, and in this sense it may be con-
sidered a specific state tax for schools.
Though the property tax is a variable and diminishing source of state
revenue, it is both a constant and increasing source of local revenue and
of school support. It has been seen ^ that the locahties carry three-fourths
of the financial load of pubUc education, and that the tax which supplies
the money is the local property tax.
The assessment of property is a local function, except for the activities
of the State Tax Commission in assessing special franchises of corporations,
in cooperating informally with local assessors, and in assisting in the equal-
ization of local assessments for purposes of apportioning the state direct
tax. The assessors are town, village, or city officials, elected for a term of
two or four years, except that under permissive legislation, a few cities
(including the City of New York) have improved their assessment ma-
chinery by appointing their force of assessors on the merit basis for an in-
definite term. All tax levies — school, municipal, and state, are extended
on the same assessment base, subject to equalization.
The control of the amount of school tax to be levied rests in most sections
of the state with the local board of education or board of school trustees,
which, with a few exceptions, is an elected body.* These boards of educa-
tion, except in a few cities, have complete independence in making up the
school budget, fixing the school tax rate,' and controlUng expenditures.
In most cities school taxes are collected with other city taxes by the
city collector, and all school funds are kept with city funds by the city
treasurer, subject to written orders from the board of education.^ This
is the general rule in other types of municipalities except that the union
free school districts ^ and the rural school districts have their own school tax
1 See p. 92.
« In the cities of Albany, Beacon, Binghamton. Buffalo, Cohoes, Cortland, Fulton, Glen Cove, Hudson,
Kingston, New Rochelle, New York City, Niagara Falls, Oneida, Oneonta, Oswego, Poughkeepsie. Rens^
selaer, Schenectady, Tonawanda, Troy, Watertown, Watervliet, White Plains, and Yonkers, boards of
education are appointed by the mayor or common council or both. In Elmira, Little Falls, Middletown,
and Plattaburg some of the members are appointed. New York State Bureau of Municipal Information'
Report Number 712. '
» For a statement as to the extent to which these bodies are independent of the general municipal author-
ity, and for a general discussion of separate financing, see p. 177.
* School taxes are coUected at a different time of year from other taxes in Auburn, Batavia, Canandaigua.
Coming, Dunkirk, Elmira, Geneva, Glens Falls, GloversvUle, Homell, Ithaca, Jamestown, Johnstown!
Kingston, Lackawanna, Lockport, Mechanicville, Norwich, Olean, Oneonta, Port Jervis, and Sherrill!
School taxes are collected with other taxes, but segregated so that taxpayers may know the amount of
the school tax, in Fulton, Little Falls, Mount Vernon, North Tonawanda, Ogdensburg. Rensselaer. Utica.
Watertown, and Yonkers.
New York State Bureau of Mimicipal Information, Report Number 712.
» Where the limits of a union free school district are not coterminous with a village this is true, but if the
limits are coterminous the law specifies that the village collector shall collect the school taxes.
REVENUE SYSTEM
113
pK
u
collectors, appointed by the school board in the former case, and elected
by the school electorate in the latter. Most of the school taxes are paid to
these collectors, but taxes levied on public utiUties in these districts
may be paid to the county treasurer instead of to the district collector,
and the county treasurer must remit to the district the amount of all
deUnquent taxes on real estate, and then proceed to collect them. De-
linquent pubhc utihty taxes, on the contrary, are collected by the school
tax collector. The district collector receives a fee of one per cent on all
taxes, whether he succeeds in collecting them, or whether they are finaUy
collected by the county treasurer, and five per cent on all delinquent taxes
which he himself collects.^
The Personal Income Tax. — In 1919 New York established a personal
income tax which in 1922 supplied 30 millions of revenue. This tax ap-
plies to the total income of residents of the state, and to certain types of
income arising within the state belonging to non-residents. Consequently
it is not simply a comprehensive personal income tax but is, to a
limited extent, a business income tax as well, so far as non-residents are
concerned.'
The rates are progressive, ranging from one per cent on the first $10,000
to three per cent on income in excess of $50,000. The personal exemp-
tions are $1,000 for a single person, $2,000 for husband and wife plus $200
for each dependent. The yield, after administrative expenses are paid,
is equally divided between the state and the counties, the local distribu-
tion being apportioned according to the proportion that the assessed value
of the local real estate bears to the aggregate assessed value of the real
estate in the state. This plan of distribution has proved to be a strong
stimulus to full real estate assessments. The definition of income follows
very closely the federal Revenue Act of 1918. The administration is cen-
tralized under appointed state officials who have built up a permanent
corps of assistants.
The Business Taxes. — The present system of business taxes in New
York State is elaborate and complicated. Corporations, in general, are
taxed on their net income at the rate of 4.5 per cent.^ This tax, first es-
tablished in 1917, yielded 33 millions in 1922. Since dividends from cor-
porations paying it are not exempt under the personal income tax, the cor-
poration income tax becomes a true business tax. The income as re-
ported for purposes of the federal income tax is used with certain sUght
modifications as the base for the tax. The administration is centralized
• Since the above paragraph was written a new law provides for more adequate notice of assessments
of school taxes upon public utilities and provides an additional fee of one per cent for county treasurers
collecting such taxes.
• This business tax element will be readjusted in case the recommendations of the Davenport Committee
are adopted. The personal income tax will then become strictly a personal tax.
• 1919 amendments to the 1917 law expanded the scope of the application of the mercantile and manu>
f acturing corporation tax law and raised the rate from 3 to 4.5 per cent.
114 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
REVENUE SYSTEM
115
under the State Tax Commission and the yield is divided, two-thirds to
the state and one-third to the localities in which the tangible personal
property of the corporations is located.^
Banks are not taxed under the corporation income tax, but are subject
to taxes based mainly on the value of the capital stock and surplus.*
Originally the bank-stock tax was part of the general property tax,
but in the course of evolution it ha,s come to partake of the character of a
business tax. The rate has become conventionaUzed at one per cent.'
The entire jdeld of taxes on shares of state and national banks goes to the
localities. The entire yield of taxes on trust companies, savings banks,
and investment companies goes to the state.
The stock transfer tax is a tax of two cents per one hundred dollars, face
value or fraction thereof, on all transfers of stock. The yield in 1922 was
nearly eight miUions, all of which went to the state.
In addition to the business taxes listed above, there are miscellaneous
corporation taxes, falling chiefly on public utilities, levied on varying
bases, which in 1922 yielded the state treasury nearly 17 millions.*
Miscellaneous Taxes. — Motor vehicle taxes are designed to throw
directly upon the users of the roads a part of the cost of providing road
facilities, on the ground that the user receives a special benefit. These
taxes yielded 14 millions in 1922. Three-fourths of the yield is kept by
the state and spent for the maintenance and repair of improved roads.
Each county receives one-fourth of the collections from residents of the
county, to be used for permanent construction or improvement of town
highways.
The proceeds of the inheritance tax, which the state does not share with
local units of government, amounted to 15 millions in 1922. The rates
range from one to eight per cent, depending upon the size of the beneficial
interest in the estate and the nearness of kin of the recipient. The initial
exemption is $5,000 in the case of heirs most closely related to the decedent,
and $500 in the case of others.
The mortgage-recording tax, which yielded five and one-half millions
in 1922, is evenly divided between the state and the localities. The tax
consists of a fee of fifty cents for each $100 of principal debt secured by
mortgage on real property situated within the state. The share going to
1 In case the corporation has no tangible personalty, the location of the main office of the concern within
the state determines the distribution.
* Since this paragraph was written the bank taxes have been revamped as the result of unfavorable
court decisions. Dividends on bank stock are no longer taxed under the state personal income tax and
"moneyed capital" in competition with national banks, even if owned by individuals and partnerships,
is subject to the tax.
* In the case of national and state banks, the tax is technically on the shares. In the case of trust com-
panies, the tax is on the institution itself. Investment companies and savings banks are subject to taxation
on a slightly different basis from the other financial institutions. See Davenport Report, p. 183.
* The Davenport Committee has recommended a new unified public utility tax law, and the extension of
the bubiness income tax to include unincorporated businesses.
i
the localities in which the mortgaged property lies is apportioned accord-
ing to the assessed value of property.
In addition to the taxes described above, the localities receive substan-
tial sums from special assessments levied to pay for local improvements
and from miscellaneous Ucenses and fees.
This, then, constitutes the state and local tax system as it now stands.
A critical evaluation of the system from the point of view of its adequacy
to meet the demands of the educational needs of the state will be found
in a later section of this report (pp. 156-176).
\
i
CHAPTER VIII
THE PRESENT AND PROBABLE FUTURE TOTAL COST OP EDUCATION
IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The figures presented in the earlier chapters of this report relate entirely
to tax-supported public education. In this chapter an estimate is pre-
sented of the total cost of all education in the state, including the cost of
those institutions which receive no support from the pubUc treasury.
Estimates are also given regarding the cost involved in the acceptance of
certain higher standards, and the probable growth of the aggregate cost of
education in the years lying inmiediately ahead.
Aggregate Cost of AU Education in the State in 1921. — The option
which exists of stating aggregate costs in terms of cash disbursements or in
terms of annual accrued economic cost has already been discussed in Chap-
ter III (pp. 31-36). The following estimate of aggregate cost of edu-
cation in the state for the year 1921 is in terms of the accrued economic
cost for that year, which means that "money's worth used up" dur-
ing the year rather than mere cash disbursements is the basis of the
computation :
The Public Sc?u)ol System:
1. Cash disbursements for current expenses . . . $148,115,510
2. Cash disbursements for interest on outstanding
indebtedness 6,578,355
3. Imputed interest on money invested in plant ' not '
accounted for by interest on outstanding in-
debtedness 6,930,724*
4. Estimated depreciation on buildings and equip-
ment 6, 127,870 <
$167,752,459
> Includes tax-supported institutions of higher education.
> As used in this chapter "plant" includes sites, buUdings, and equipment, unless otherwise specified.
• This figure represents the total imputed interest charge on the public school plant minus the cash
disbursements for interest. The rate used in the calculation of imputed interest was 4.54 per cent. For
the manner in which this rate was calculated see Chapter V, pages 87-88.
< The technique used in determining depreciation is fully explained in Chapter V, pages 82-87.
116
\
^
PRESENT AND FUTURE EDUCATIONAL COSTS 117
Primte and Parochial Elementary and Secondary Schools:
1. Estimated current expenses 1 $24,552,000
2. Imputed interest on investment in plant «... 2,539,566
3. Estimated depreciation on buildings and equip-
ment 1,070,344
•QQ Ifil QIA
Non-Tax-Supported Institutions of Higher Education: ' '
1. Cash disbursements for current expenses . . . 20,388,740
2. Imputed interest on investment in plant . . . 2,451,861
3. Estimated depreciation on buildings and equip-
ment» 980,744
$23,821,345
Total $219,735,714*
Of the total of $219,735,714 here arrived at, 80 per cent represents actual
dollars paid out and only 20 per cent rests on estimates.
The foregoing figures may be grouped as follows :
Current expenses $193,056,250
Interest (including imputed) 18,500,506
Depreciation 8,178.958
Total $219,735,714
It should be noted that a portion of the current expenses amounting to 12.7
per cent is estimated. If one should substitute interest actually paid for the
interest figure of $18,500,506 given above (which includes imputed interest
on owned plant) and should substitute new capital outlay during the year for
the depreciation figure, as given above, the calculation would be changed
thereby from the accrued economic-cost basis to a cash-disbursement basis.
» A study was made of the attendance of private and parochial schools, partly from reports which were
furnished to the Inquiry, and partly by checking these figures with a careful study of the total number of
children attending school, as shown by the Census, in relation to the number attending public schools.
An assumption was made that the average daily attendance in private and parochial schools bore the same
relationship to the number enrolled as does the average daily attendance in public schools to their enrolment.
The estimates showed 289,500 children enrolled in elementary schools, and 33,500 pupils enrolled in
secondary schools conducted under private auspices. Correcting these figures to average daily attendance.
It IS estimated that the average daily attendance in private and parochial elementary schools is 231,600, and
26,800 in secondary schools. Applying a charge of $89 per pupil in average daUy attendance for elementary
schools and $147 per pupil in average daily attendance in secondary schools (the cost figures for public
schools) the estimated economic charge against the people of the State of New York for the current expenses
for private and parochial schools is estimated to be $24,552,000. Of this amount $20,612,400 is the esti-
mated charge for elementary schools, and $3,939,600 the estimated charge for schools of secondary grade.
* It IS estimated that the investment in plant and equipment is as much per pupil in average daily at-
tendance in private and parochial as for pupils in public schools.
•This calculation is made by assuming that of the total value of the plant, 21 per cent should be charged
to sites, 71 per cent to buildings, and 8 per cent to equipment. This is the ratio found for sites, bmldings.
and eqmpment for tax-supported schools when an average for twelve years is taken. Depreciation on buiW-
* n*^ if ^^^'^ ** ^ ^"^ **"* annually and on equipment, 5 per cent annually. On this basis the estimate
allowed for depreciation on buildings is $765,196 and on equipment. $215,558.
«The annual plant charge against the resources of the community is indicated by the three items:
(1) mterest on indebtedness. (2) imputed interest on total capital invested in the school plant minus the
mterest paid during the year on money owed on it, (3) an annual charge for the depreciation of the phmt.
This does not take account of the increase which must be expected in all of these charges due to larger
enrolment or other expansion of the school system. The demand of the schools for large amounts of capital
each year must be met out of the capital fund available, but this amount is not properly considered as an
annual charge. The interest and depreciation charges measure more satisfactorily the annual cost to the
community.
118 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Estimated Costs Involved in the Enforcement of Legal Requirements
and the Acceptance of Higher Standards. — If certain commonly-accepted
standards were to be made to prevail throughout the State of New York,
and if certain legal requirements were to be fully enforced, additional
charges would have to be met in support of the pubUc school system.
For example :
1. If trained teachers were provided for all the schools of the state,
and if a sufficient number to supply this requirement were graduated from
the state schools for the training of teachers each year, the additional
charge for the training of these teachers would amount to $1,983,519 per
year,* for current expenses only.
2. If the continuation school law were fully in effect,^ it is estimated
that there would be 196,147 students in attendance upon these courses.
Assuming an average attendance of four hours a week, which is the min-
imum required by law, and forty weeks in the school year, and assuming a
cost of 15 cents per hour,' a total estimated cost for the maintenance of
continuation schools of $4,707,528 is arrived at.
3. If kindergartens were established in cities and villages, not now pro-
viding this type of education, excluding rural areas, and if children at-
tended these kindergartens in the same ratio to enrolment as in systems
maintaining kindergartens, it is estimated that the additional cost to the
people of the State of New York would amount to $254,230. This does
not express the possible increase in current expenditure for kindergartens
were they provided for all children of kindergarten age. It is probably
true that, in all of the conununities maintaining kindergartens, the at-
tendance would be much larger were more kindergartens maintained.
Any material increase in attendance would, of course, necessitate additional
expenditures for new buildings.
4. If the compulsory school age were extended downward to include all
children six years of age and over, the additional current expense would
be approximately $1,800,000. In villages of under 4,500 inhabitants, and
in rural schools, the compulsory age begins at eight ; in the larger communi-
ties at the seventh year. By taking the number of children now in at-
tendance of the first compulsory age group (that is, eight years of age in
places having 4,500 inhabitants or over, and seven years in others), and
by assuming that if the compulsory law included children of the lower age
groups, at least as many more would be enrolled and schools for them
would cost about as much as for the older children, it appears that to
» Standard training for elementary school teachers b assumed to consist of high school graduation plua
two years of professional training. For high school teachers, standard training is assumed to involve
college graduation, preferably including special professional training as a part of the four-year course. This
estimate is based upon a calculation which shows the average teaching life of the graduate of a normal school
to be 10.5 years, and of a graduate of the schools preparing secondary school teachers to be 7.15 years.
• This law goes into full effect in 1925.
» This estimate seems reasonable in the light of the evening school costs presented on pages 67-70.
PRESENT AND FUTURE EDUCATIONAL COSTS
119
,)
i
extend the compulsory school age to include children six years old would
involve an additional current expenditure of $1,770,230.
5. A capital outlay charge should be added to these estimated increases
which would be involved in providing adequate school acconunodations
for all children within the state. In the City of New York, on December
31, 1922, there were 355,162 pupils on double session, or short time. If, for
the moment, it be granted that the buildings in which these children are
housed are suitable for the purpose for which they are now being used, a
full day's session for all of these children would require, even though half
of the children be permitted to continue use of the old buildings, that new
space be provided for the remaining half — or 177,581 pupils. It is esti-
mated that in the City of New York there are in the over-size classes 47,805
children, accepting forty children per class as a standard. If this standard
were to be maintained, new accommodations would have to be provided
for these children. If accommodations were provided for 177,581 plus
47,805 or 225,386 children at $500 per pupil, the capital outlay necessary
would amount to $112,693,000. If this money were obtained by issuing
4.5 per cent bonds, the interest charge necessary to carry this capital out-
lay would amount to $5,071,185 per annum. Counting the life of these
buildings as 75 years, there would be a yearly depreciation charge of ^ of
the entire estimated capital outlay, or $1,502,573. For both interest and
depreciation the total annual charge for the City of New York would be
$6,573,758.
The communities outside of the City of New York have approximately
70 per cent as much invested in buildings as has the City of New York.
If the need for new buildings to accommodate children on part time and in
over-size classes is figured as 70 per cent of the $112,693,000, estimated as
required to supply the City of New York in this regard, the charge for
new structures outside of the City of New York would amount to $78-
885,100. Charging 4.5 per cent interest for this capital investment re-
quired, and estimating the life of the buildings to be 75 years, with a yearly
depreciation charge of ^ of the entire estimated capital outlay, gives an
estimated charge, to provide faciUties for the state outside of the City of
New York, which amounts to $4,601,631. •
This estimated cost is probably too low, rather than too high, since, in
practically all of the communities throughout the state, buildings are now
in use which should be abandoned and replaced by more adequate school
accommodations. This estimated annual charge for additional plant for
the entire state, including the City of New York, totals $11,175,389.*
To recapitulate, were fully equipped teachers to be provided, the con-
tinuation school law to be fully in effect, kindergartens more conmionly
established, all children of six years of age enrolled in schools, and school
* This does not include sitos.
120 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
buildings erected to accommodate the children now on part time and those
in over-size classes, the estimated annual increase in costs to be met by
taxation would be as follows :
1. Annual current expense for the training of teachers to replace those
who quit the service in 1921, assuming aU who enter have standard
training I 2,212,090
2. Annual increase in current expenses for trained teachers over sal-
ary paid to those not having standard training i 293 600 *
3. Annual interest charged on capital outlay necessary to provide in-
creased accommodations in institutions for the training of teachers 172,800 «
4. Annual depreciation charges on account of these buildings * . . . 61*200
5. Annual estunated current expenses of continuation schools were the
law fuUy in effect » 4,707,528
0. Annual estimated mcrease were kindergartens more commonly pro-
^"®d 254 230
7. Annual estimated increase in current expenses were all children of
six years of age enrolled in school j 770 230
8. Annual charge required to carry increased accommodations needed
for part-time and over-size classes 11175 389*
'^*^**^ • $21,637,067
In naaking these estimates it is assumed that population will increase.
There is also an assumption that, as has been true in the past, special
types of education will be introduced, or special activities added to the
present program. Increases in expenditures during the past twelve years
are partly accounted for by legislation which has required evening
schools and continuation classes, medical inspection, physical education
and the like. '
Estimates op Probable Future Increases in Costs
In arriving at a defensible estimate of the cost of public education in the
State of New York during the next few years, it seemed best to be guided
by the cash disbursement figures determined for the thirteen years from
1910-1922. The study has not included data for years previous to 1909.
The technique of arriving at these estimates is shown graphically in Dia^
gram 7.
The total cash disbursements for each of these thirteen years are plotted
on the diagram. Then the straight Une which best fitted this series of
I Thia figure is arrived at by taking the number of trained teachers replacing those with less than standard
training, and multiplying by the difference in the middle-case saUry now received by those in the two groups
It IS estimated m determining the charge on account of capital outlay and depreciation that increased
Mcommodations would cost $750 per pupil. Allowance was made for the fact that considerable numbers
.J"^ ?*!' * ^° °°* graduate. These figures were secured by taking the enrolments of normal
schools and the state teachers' college as a basi. for determining the number that would have to ^ e^U^
m order to provide a given number of graduates. enroiiea
.Jl^vn^'lt ** the number of persons who would be compelled to attend continuation schools, data were
D^v^t^tl" °rT^l'° "*' ^r^ *^''*''^' "^^ ''°°* «^**°«' ^"^''^^'^^ fi«^^ f«^ both public and
private schools. A further correction for those not competent to receive such instruction was made
* Not including sites. «*«*«.
/I
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PRESENT AND FUTURE EDUCATIONAL COSTS
121
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122 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
points was plotted and projected across the diagram to be used as a basis
for estimating probable future disbursements.^
It is noted that the disbursements for the first three years of the period
fall above the " line of best fit," that throughout the period from 1915 to
1920 the disbursements are distinctly below this line, but in 1921 and in
1922 are noticeably above the line.
During the years 1915-1920 httle building was done and as a consequence
the school systems of the state actually ran behind in providing school
accommodations for their children. There was a revival of building in
1921-1922 with a corresponding increase in cash disbursements. It is
probable that expenditures for buildings will continue to increase some-
what during the next few years. It is a fair assumption, however, that the
actual cash disbursements over the period of years just ahead will grad-
ually return to the " line of best fit."
Following the curve as plotted in terms of cash disbursements actually
made, it seems reasonable to expect that this curve will approach or meet
the " Une of best fit " not later than 1930. On the basis of this assumption
the dotted Hne is drawn. The cash disbursements for 1925 and for 1930
as located on this dotted line are $207,400,000 and $226,400,000 respectively.
These figures give the best estimate that can be made with the data that
are available. Of course no one would deny the possibility of greater
increases in disbursements than these here estimated. It is best, however,
to make estimates based on known facts.
The total annual accrued economic cost to the people of the State of
New York for the maintenance of all schools, tax-supported and non-tax-
supported, exceeded in 1921 the cash disbursements for tax-supported
schools by $44,255,711. If this amount is added to the estimated cash
disbursements, a total accrued economic cost for all schools, tax-supported
and non-tax-supported, of $251,655,711 for 1925, and $270,655,711 for
1930, is found. It is also estimated on page 120 that the enforcement
of certain legal requirements and the acceptance of certain high standards
would involve an annual charge of $21,637,067.* If this additional charge
is added, the estimated totals for 1925 and 1930 become $273,292,778 and
> The "line of beat fit" is known in statistics as a rcjEression line. It is determined by the formula —
S. D.,
XI — ru
S. D
in which X, is the deviation in millions of dollars for the average disbursements for the thirteen years, x, is
the years of deviation from the middle year of this period, n, is the correlation coefficient between the
disbursements and the dates, and theS.D.iand S.D.iare the respective standard deviations of the dis-
tributions of expenditures and dates.
• It is to be noted that the estimated increases in expenditures, calculated upon the basis of cash dis-
bursements, do not include increases in expenditure which maybe involved, if oerUin standards are accepted
and carried into effect. On the other hand, the estimates on the basis of cash disbursements indicated by the
"Ime of best fit" do allow for increases in population and for the growth of the number of those availing
themselves of school facilities. For example, mcreases in high school attendance are allowed for in the
estimated increases in cash disbursements, while the adoption of a kindergarten program more generally
throughout the state is added as a special possible mcrease in expenditure in this separate item of $21,637,067.
PRESENT AND FUTURE EDUCATIONAL COSTS
123
$292,292,778 respectively. These estimates assume that the difference
between the disbursements as estimated for tax-supported schools, and
the annual accrued economic cost for all schools maintained within the
state, will remain constant. If for any reason the annual accrued economic
cost for the non-tax-supported schools should increase at the same rate
that the disbursements for tax-supported schools increase, these estimates
would be too low.
A
4
,>•
^^
PART TWO
RESOURCES FOR MEETING THE PROGRAM
\
CHAPTER IX
ECONOMIC RESOURCES OP THE STATE OP NEW YORK COMPARED
WITH EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES
Pakt One of this report culminates in an estimate which represents the
best judgment of the Conmiission as to the size of the probable financial
demands of pubhc education in the State of New York in the years which lie
immediately ahead. In connection with the estabUshment of this estimate
certain facts have been presented bearing upon, first, the precise character
of the financial program ; second, the amounts which are actually being
spent for education, classified so as to show in some detail where the money
is going ; and third, the manner in which this money is being raised.
As has been said above,i the Conmiission is committed to attempt more
than this. So far as the means at its disposal and the character of the
problem permit, it must study the resources and limitations which sur-
round and underhe the proposal to dedicate a sum of such proportions to
the purposes of pubHc education.
The size of public expenditures m general, and of educational expendi-
tures in particular, has recently evoked much pubhc comment. Some of
this comment has taken the form of definite predictions of economic dis-
aster. It is not, of course, within the province of this Commission to sug-
gest how much the State of New York can afford to spend for education or
for other pubUc purposes. All it can properly undertake is to analyze the
problem resulting from the public expenditure of these large and growing
sums. Such an analysis is here attempted, in the hope that it may throw
light upon the true character of the limitations wldch are becoming so
painfully apparent in many parts of the state.
What a state can spend for education depends upon many factors. But
there are six very important factors that should be set forth :
1. The first and foremost is the state's economic strength and vigor,
since a rich and thriving community is able to afford more of everything
than a poor and decadent one.
2. It depends upon the disposition of the people of the state toward
the fruits of the educational process. A community which values educa-
tion highly will spend a larger share of its economic resources to obtain it
than wiD be spent by a second, equally strong community, which places
education lower in its scale of values.
> See pp. 120-124.
127
I
128 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
3. Again, what the state can afford to spend for education may be af-
fected by the manner in which the state is districted and the manner in
which educational fimctions are distributed. Clearly, if the state is di-
vided into very small districts, which are required to perform all the func-
tions connected with educating their youth, and to meet the entire cost
from resources within their boundaries, the resources in the poor districts
may be strained to the limit to provide a meager educational offering,
while the rich districts may be able to finance an elaborate program with-
out perceptible effort. On the other hand, a complete pooling of all the
economic resources of the state, in support of a state-wide program, might
enable the state to spend a much larger aggregate sum for educational
purposes in less favored communities, and thereby more nearly equalize
the burden of support than would be possible under a locahzed, small-
district organization of the educational system where the burden of sup-
port even in adjoining districts or counties may be greatly unequal.
4. In the fourth place, if the revenue system of the state be so crudely
devised, or so faultily administered, that an increase in taxes results in serious
injustices and friction, the tax system itself may be a Umiting factor even
though economic resources be adequate and the desire for education strong.
5. Another factor which may affect the problem is the confidence which
the community has in the skill with which the school system is organized
and administered. A conviction, just or unjust, that educational funds
are being wasted or mismanaged may serve to prevent a community from
sanctioning an educational program which it very much desires and could
well afford to support. On the other hand, a school that commands the
interest of the conmiunity and is a center of inspiration to adults, as well as
to children, in building a better and more productive conununity will
be supported more willingly.
6. Finally, the limiting factor may be a weakness in the governmental
arrangement for interpreting the desires of the community with respect
to the educational program. It is important that the mechanism by which
the conununity registers its decisions as to what it really wants in edu-
cation should be made as perfect as possible.
These six factors are perhaps the most important in determining the
amount which the state can spend for education. The remaining pages in
this report will be devoted to a discussion of some of these factors with
special reference to the situation existing in the State of New York.
The object is to make a diagnosis rather than to write a prescription or to
formulate a program of action.
Turning first to the economic aspects of the situation, the rest of this
chapter presents the most important facts regarding the economic re-
sources of the State of New York, and compares the growth of these re-
sources in recent years with the growth of expenditures for public educa-
ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 129
tion. The specific question it seeks to answer is whether these expend-
itures are absorbing a larger proportion of the community's resources and
effort than was formerly the case.
Economic Resources in the State of New York, 1910-1922. — The diffi-
culties of measuring economic resources in the State of New York are
obvious. Two of the most commonly used indices are aggregate wealth
and income, but it should be borne in mind that wealth and income are
used as separate and distinct measures of economic resources. It should
not be inferred that the income is to be added to wealth to secure a re-
sultant representative of resources. Unfortunately, except for real estate
values, satisfactory data relating to the wealth of the State of New York
are entirely lacking and the figures representing the income of the people of
the state are merely careful estimates.^
The only comprehensive appraisal of the wealth of the state is that of
the federal census, the state itself making no attempt at a general valua-
tion of property.* The results of the federal census of wealth are almost
entirely worthless for purposes of this study,' except to show roughly the
» The phrases "wealth of the State of New York" and "income of the people of the state" are used
deliberately in order to emphasiie the basis upon which the figures rest. The appraisals of wealth, as, for
example, that of the federal census, present estimates of the value of tangible property lying within the
boundaries of the sUte. The income figures, on the other hand, represent the income accruing to
the people domiciled within the borders of a state, irrespective of the jurisdictions in which the in-
come actually arises. This is a distinction which lies at the root of the legal rules of situs (location)
which control the attempts of a state to utilise wealth and income as subjects of taxation. The or-
dinary rule of situs, governing the taxability of property, may be roughly stated thus : that tangible
property takes its situs for tax purposes from its physical location and that intangible property follows
the person of the owner. In other words, a state has the power to tax tangible property lying within its
borders, irrespective of whether such property is owned by residents or non-residents, and a state may tax
the intangible property of its residents, irrespective of whether such property is included within its borders
or not. It is clear that to count as the toUl wealth of the state the sum of all tangible property within its
borders, and all of the intangible property of its residents, irrespective of its location, would involve in the
aggregate a large amount of double counting, because of the fact that intangible property, such as bonds,
mortgages, etc.. which are evkiences of wealth rather than the wealth itself, represents, in large measure*,
claims to tangible property.
The various states in elaborating then- property tax systems, under the rules of situs outlined above, have
become involved in a serious problem of double taxation, many states attempting to tax all intangible prop-
erty owned by residents of the state as well as all tangible property located within their borders, with vary-
ing and often inadequate provision for deduction of debts. The recent developments in the direction of
state tax reform have included measures for correcting this situation by restricting the property tax to
Ungible property and substituting state income taxes for the old taxes on intangible personalty.
A state imposing a Ux upon personal income may tax the total income received from the individuals
resident within the state, irrespective of the location of the sources of such income ; the rule following that
of the intangible property tax. A state also has the legal right to tax business income arising from business
carried on within its borders, and, in increasing numbers, states are introducing taxes based upon business
income which follow this rule of allocation.
Theoretically it would be possible to obtain a figure which would represent the wealth of the peopU of
the SUte of New York, but this would involve an appraisal which would, by individuals, list the value of
their assets and liabilities, irrespective of their physical location, and arrive at a figure of net worth. An
aggregation of these net-worth items would give a figure of interest and significance, but the statistics are
not gathered in a form which makes possible the presentation of such a figure.
« As has been explained above (p. 108) the tax system has been so changed as to avoid ahnost completely
the necessity of valuing any property except real estate.
» The only figures at present available relate to the year 1912, and corresponding figures for 1922 will not
be available before 1924. Consequently it is impossible to secure from this source a picture which is at all
representative of present conditions or present trends in the state. Even if the 1922 figures were available.
I
130 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
relative importance of real estate values. The federal figures indicate that
in 1912, real property accounted for 16.9 biUions out of a total valuation
of 25 billions of dollars, or more than two-thirds of the total wealth in the
state. But, even though real estate values be the most important single
element of wealth, and though they are used in this study as a measure of
wealth, it by no means follows that their rate of increase measures accu-
rately the increase of wealth in general. Indeed, there are certain facts
which render it extremely probable that economic resources have increased
at a considerably faster rate during the period than would be indicated by
the rise in real estate values from eleven to seventeen billions.
In the first place during this period there was a large increase in the bur-
den of taxation on real estate, the tax per $1,000 of full value in 1921 being
nearly 50 per cent greater than it had been in 1911.^ Since a large portion
of the 16 billions of real estate value consists of land values * which tend
to diminish as the rate of tax increases, it may be concluded that the figure
of full value of real estate should be revised upward, if it were to be accepted
as a true index of the trend of the growth of economic resources of the
state.
Moreover, since the valuation of land is an appraisal which involves the
use of an interest rate, it becomes important to take into account the varia-
tions in that rate. During the period under consideration there has been
a distinct upward movement of interest rates which would tend to depress
land values, as well as other property values, and render a comparison of
present values with those of a decade ago even less representative of the
real growth of the economic strength of the comn^unity than they would
otherwise be.'
On the other hand, the retardation in the normal rate of construction
during the war and the high cost of building which has recently obtained
have been forces operating to appreciate the value of existing improve-
ments. Forces such as these cannot be accurately measured, but they
{t would not be possible, in the opinion of competent students of the problem, to attach any high degree of
significance to them because of the known difficulties of appraisal and the only approximate success which
the census has been able to achieve in carrying through the work.
^ The taxes per SI, 000 of real estate value (full value) have varied during these years as follows :
1911 $17.23 1915 $17.08 1919 $21.07
1912 19.06 1916 18.13 1920 21.74
1913 17.33 1917 18.60 1921 26.60
1914 20.96 1918 19.88
* In the generally accepted economic analysis the value of land is determined by the present value of the
expected future net income arising from the possession of such land and a tax placed upon the land and
coming from the land rent would not be shifted forward, but would be borne by the owner of the land, the
net result being a diminution in the selling value of the land to the extent that the increased tax diminished
the prospect for future net income. It is, of course, impossible to say what the expectation was in 1910,
which resulted in the valuations of the property obtained at that time. It is scarcely possible, however,
that a 50 per cent increase in the tax rate was anticipated by real estate owners of that day.
* For example, the interest rate on new issues of long-term school bonds in the State of New York averages
4.2 per cent during the six-year period, 1910-1915, and 4.5 per cent during the period 1916-1921. See
p. 89.
1
ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 131
should be borne in mind in considering the validity of the real estate values
as indices of economic resources. With all their shortcomings these fig-
ures are the most significant and valuable measure of wealth of the state
at present available.
The real estate values shown in Table 42 represent full market value
and are beUeved to be fairly accurate. They consist of assessments made
by local tax officers, as revised by the equahzation rates of the State Tax
Commission. These equahzation rates are based upon elaborate field
investigations regarding the correctness of assessments, which involve
comparisons of the assessed values with the true prices, as given in re-
corded deeds in real estate transfers.
Only taxable real estate is included in the figures as presented. In ad-
dition there are large quantities of real estate owned pubUcly or by re-
ligious, charitable, educational, and similar institutions which are exempt by
law from taxation. In 1921 such property was valued at $3,285,077,891.1
If the figures were available, it would be of interest to subdivide them
so as to show what portion of the increase from 11 to 17 biUions of dollars
was due to increases in land values and what portion to an increase in
the value of improvements. The figures for the City of New York alone
show that between 1910 and 1922 more than two-thirds of the increase in
real estate values was due to increases in building values and less than one-
third to increases in land values.^
The income figures in the table rest largely upon the estimates of the
National Bureau of Economic Research.' They were obtained by as-
« Report of State Tax Commission, 1921, p. 21. It should be noted that this property yields a valuable
return to the community even though that return be not valued explicitly in dollars.
* This sUtement is based on the following unequaliaed assessments of the City of New York, exdudinc
real estate of corporations and the value of franchises :
1910
191S
Increarb
Land
S4,001, 129,651
2,490,206,348
$6,491,335,999
$4,976,001,082
4,565,004,738
$9,541,005,820
$ 974,871,431
2,074,798,390
$3,049,669,821
Improvements
Total
» In the estimates of the Biveau "the national income is taken to consist of the commodities and services
produced by the people of the country or obtained from abroad for their use, with the omission of goods for
which no price is commonly paid, for example the services of housewives. Agricultural produce consumed
by the families that produce it, mainly food and firewood, is included, and so also is the rental value of
homes occupied by their owners. Finally income is reckoned on a net basis, that is, negative income, main-
tenance, and depreciation charges are deducted, but not 'extensions and betterments'." " Income in the
United States," p. 42.
It should be observed that in making these estimates every activity of the people for which money was
paid was deemed to produoe income equal to its cost irrespective of the character of the activity. Thus
services of household servants and of professional men, such as doctors, clergymen, lawyers, actors, etc.,
and services of government, such as the maintenance of the army and navy, police, fire and health depart-
ments, and public education, all were deemed to constitute income equal to their cost. Money received
as interest on national, state, and municipal obligations was not included, as such pajrments, in effect, are
made by the people ooUectively to part of the people and therefore do not increase the collective income of
the people.
The work of the Bureau supplies a much more trustworthy approximation of the national income than
132 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 133
TABLE 42
FULL VALUE OP TAXABLE REAL ESTATE IN THE STATE OF
NEW YORK AND ESTIMATED INCOME OF THE PEOPLE
OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, 1910-1922
Full YAhxm of Taxablb
Real Estate*
Income op the People op
THE State op New York
Yxiuti
Amount
in billions
Index showing
increase based
on 1910*
Amount
in billions >
Index showing
increase based
on 1910
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
$10.8
11.0
12.0
12.3
12.8
12.9
13.2
13.7
13.9
14.4
14.7
16.4
17.3
100
102.2
111.9
114.0
118.7
120.0
122.9
127.2
129.6
133.4
136.6
152.4
161.2
$3.9
4.3
4.3
4.5
4.7
4.5
4.9
6.8
7.4
8.4
9.1
9.9
7.5
100
110.2
110.2
115.4
120.5
115.4
125.6
174.4
189.7
215.4
233.3
253.8
192.3
> In general, the figures presented in this portion of the report relate to the year ending during the fiscal
year August 1 to July 31. The income figures are for calendar years ending during these school years.
« These figures include the value of the special franchises of public service corporations which are legally
classified as real estate. The comparative importance of this element may be judged from the following
figures, which represent the ratio of franchise values to total real estate valuations :
1910 5.8% 1916 4.4%
1912 5.1 1918 6.0
1914 5.0 1920 4.6
1921 4.1
Public utility franchises in the State of New York tend to be overvalued, rather than undervalued.
* These index numbers were calciilated upon the basis of the complete figures of real estate values. In
the preceding column the figures have been carried only to the nearest hundred thousand.
signing to the State of New York each year the same proportion of the
total income of the country for that year as the income of the people of
the state was found to bear to the total income of the country during the
has hitherto been available. The following figures represent its final estimates of the income of the country
as a whole for the calendar years 1909-1918 (in billions of dollars) :
1909 $28.8 1913 $34.4 1917 $53.9
1910 31.4 1914 33.2 1918 61.0
1911 31.2 1915 36.0
1912 33.0 1916 45.4
In addition the Bureau has published an estimate for the year 1919 which places the total income of the
country at 66.3 billions (" Distribution of Income by States in 1919," p. 25). Later data would appear to
indicate that this figure may be as much as 66.8 billions.
The Bureau has published no formal estimates for the years 1920 and 1921. Tentative approximations
are available, however, from sources believed to be fairly dependable. Those adopted for the purposes
of the table are 72.5 billions for 1920 and 55.0 billions for 1921. The estimates from the second source do
not differ much from these, the figures being 71.0 billions for 1920 and 56.0 billions for 1921.
i
DIAGRAM 8
Vabiations IN Full Value op Taxable Real Estate, Total Income of the
People op the State, and Total Cash Disbursements pob
Public Education — State op New York, 1910-1922
Based on Tables 4 and 42
n
Ik
IS
1^
15
II
M
10
7
5
2
/
0
ISIO
I I I
W\ ISI2 ni5
1 1 T— ^1 — T \ r
wiH \vs IS 14 wn niff i<?H mo mi mi
134 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
calendar year 1919, when the Bureau attempted a distribution of the na-
tional income among the states. The assumption that New York's share
in the national income has remained constant during the period under view
appears to be a fairly reasonable one.*
Table 42 shows for the thirteen years from 1910 through 1922 the
full value of taxable real estate in the State of New York, and the
annual income of the people living in the state. Figures are given in
billions of dollars. The table shows that real estate values have risen
gradually and regularly from 10.8 billions of dollars in 1910 to 17.3
bilUons of dollars in 1922. During the same period the income of the
people living in the state rose from 3.9 biUions of dollars in 1910 to 9.9
biUions in 1921, dropping to 7.5 billions in 1922. That is, real estate
values increased sUghtly more than 60 per cent, while income increased
over 90 per cent.
Cash Disbursements for Public Education Compared with Economic
Resources, 1919-1920. — When the amounts spent for pubhc schools are
compared year by year with the available data representing economic re-
sources, as is done in Diagrams 8 and 10,* it becomes evident that the cash
disbursements have been growing at a more rapid rate than real estate values
and income. In other words, pubhc education is absorbing an increasingly
large share of economic resources in the State of New York. One need go
no further than this for an explanation of the complaints regarding the
size of school expenditures which are so prevalent. Such a state of affairs
involves economic readjustments, the character of which is discussed in
the next chapter.
When real estate values and income are compared with cash disburse-
ments year by year the comparisons are vaUd because they are made in
terms of dollars of Uke value. When, however, the comparisons are made
between the years in the series the changes in prices enter to modify con-
clusions which may properly be drawn. During this period, as is well
known, prices fluctuated violently.
Since a large proportion of educational expenditures are absorbed in
teachers' salaries, perhaps the most significant price index available is
that shown in Diagram 9, which measures the variations in the cost of
Hving of persons of moderate incomes during this period. This index was
1 The computations of the Bureau assigned to the State of New York 9.1 billions out of a total national
Income of 66.3 billions, or 13.69 per cent. " Distribution of Income by States in 1919," p. 25. The figures
presented in Table 42 represent 13.69 per cent of the estimated national income for each year of the period.
That the assumption involved is not a violent one is shown by the fact that New York's share of the totai
personal income subject to the federal income tax has remained fairly constant throughout the period for
which trustworthy statistics are available. These percentages run as follows : 1917, 17.87 per cent ; 1918,
17.08 per cent ; 1919. 17.30 per cent ; and 1920, 16.99 per cent. The tendency toward decline in 1920 is
ascribed by some students of the problem to the increase in investments in tax-exempt bonds by persons of
large income in the State of New York.
« The data of Diagram 8 were taken from Table 40, p. 105, showing school oosU. and Table 42. p. 132
showing state resources. ' '
ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 135
nouLum
DIAGRAM 9
Vabiations in the Level op Retail Prices Compared
WITH THE Variations in Cash Disbursements for
Public Education — State op New York, 1910-1922
Based on 1910 as 100, Using Data in Table 4 and
Footnote 1, Page 136.
1
i
1*10
uu
int
itu
XfU
ins
X9U
X9V
lt»
in»
uto
issi
IMS
136 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
prepared by Dr. W. I. King of the National Bureau of Economic Re-
search.^
» The following figures embrace not only the index mentioned above but also the Wholesale Price Index
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the index numbers showing the variations in the cash disbursements
for education in the State of New York shown graphically in Diagram 9.
Year
Retail Prices
Wholesale Prices
Cash Disbursements
POR Education
1910
100.00
100
100.0
1911
100.46
02
104.5
1912
101.73
•8
115.4
1913
102.67
00
120.8
1914
104.94
07
135.2
1915
106.65
100
142.3
1916
110.56
126
134.4
1917
124.20
175
137.3
1918
147.53
192
150.6
1919
178.39
204
165.5
1920
206.68
224
196.8
1921
204.74
146
294.3
1922
178.45
148
328.8
>
The basis used in computing the retail price index is explained by Dr. King as follows:
"The index numbers from 1914 to date are based upon the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. As
you know that Bureau for most of the period reported only twice a year. The months between these reports
have been interpolated on two bases. During the years 1916 to 1919 I depended upon the fluctuations
of retail prices in South Carolina, as a guide to interpolation. Since the first of January, 1920, the National
Industrial Conference Board has been presenting monthly figures, and the interpolation during this period
has been made on the basis of their reports. Readings have been taken for each month, indices have then
been totalled for the twelve months in each fiscal year, and the totals have been divided by twelve, to arrive
at the index numbers desired. For the years preceding 1914, a series of indices have been computed on the
basis of quotations obtained from numerous sources.
"Relative numbers on the base 1913 have been computed for the following items with the following
weights :
Ford automobiles 232
Books 37
Automobile tires jog
Clothing 1 582
College rooms and board 37
College tuition 7
Diamonds 39
Food 3^324
Fuel and light 530
Fura les
Gasoline IO5
House furnishings 510
Housing 1 344
Hotel bills 113
Magasines 28
Moving pictures 13Q
"Newspapers , 224
Railway passenger fares 33
Servants' wages 54
Street car fares 355
Telephones Qg
Theatre seats g^
Tobacco 279
Vaudeville seats 96
Total 10,000
•* These weights have been based largely upon the studies of the Bureau of Labor Stotistics concerning
the expenditures of families of the working class. Constant weights have been used throughout. Quot»*
.1
)
i
ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 137
It must not be inferred that the line of educational expenditures should
move in an identical manner with the price Une. To expect it to do so
would be to assume that the school money was expended for articles of
like character and amount to those used in making up the index. For a
very substantial portion of the expenditures, however, there was un-
doubtedly a close correspondence. It is believed that the graph furnishes
valuable data for quaUfying the conclusions which might otherwise be
drawn from the bare figures showing the increases in income and in school
expenditures.
TABLE 43
CASH DISBURSEMENTS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION COMPARED WITH
REAL ESTATE VALUES AND ESTIMATED INCOME (ON BASIS OF
THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN BETWEEN AGES OF 5 AND 17
INCLUSIVE), STATE OF NEW YORK, 1910-1922
Ysioit
Cash Disbctrsements
FOR Public Education
FEB Child *
Amount
1910
$29.37
1911
30.22
1912
32.87
1913
33.95
1914
37.44
1915
38.86
1916
36.19
1917
36.47
1918
39.47
1919
42.81
1920
50.22
1921
74.13
1922
81.76
Index I
Full Value of
•Taxable Real Es-
tate PER Child
Amount
100
103
112
116
127
132
123
124
134
146
171
252
278
$5297
5334
5758
5778
5934
5915
5970
6097
6128
6224
6288
6927
7233
Index
100
101
109
109
112
112
113
115
116
118
119
131
137
Estimated Income of
People of State
per Child
Amoimt
Index
$1922
100
2087
109
2056
107
2121
110
2183
114
2061
107
2213
115
3030
158
3252
169
3643
190
3895
203
4182
218
3143
164
» The expenditure figures are for the school year ending July 3l8t. The income figures are for the cal-
endar year and the land value figures for the assessment period ending during this school year.
« See Table 4. p. 38. For a subdivision of the figures into current expenses, capital outlay and interest
payments, see pp. 30 and 33.
' Showing inovase based on 1910.
Another important factor in the cost of supplying education has been
the increase in the number of chUdren to be educated. The figures in Table
43 and in Diagram 10 are obtained by dividing the various aggregates for
tions have been obtained only for January Ist and July 1st of each year. The average figure for the year
has been estimated by weighting the July 1st index 2 and the January 1st and December 3l8t indices 1 each
dividing the sum by 4. The base is the fiscal year 1910, and has been computed in the manner just men-
tioned.
"The Bureau of Labor SUtistics indices have been converted to the 1910 base at the point where they
lap over on the other indices, namely, the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1914.
T w^^o **'*™**®' '***■ ^**® ®*^''«'' ye*" »»«. of course, not as complete as those made by the Bureau of
lAbor SUtistics. but they are believed to be as good as can be worked out with any reasonable amount of
enort.
138 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
each year by the number of children in the state between the ages of 5 and
17 years. The mere nmnber of children in this age-group is one measure
of the size of the educational task. Between 1910 and 1922 the number
of such children increased from 2,030,193 to 2,397,673 or 18 per cent.
Full account has been taken of this increase in the figures.
Moreover, the number of children actually cared for by the public school
system has increased much more rapidly than the mere number of children
of school age. In 1910, 1,095,288 children were in average daily attendance
at the pubUc schools of the state. In 1922 the number had risen to 1,499,-
803 or 37 per cent. A part of the increase in school expenditures is clearly
due to this larger school attendance and is not taken fully into account
when the aggregate cost is divided merely by the number of children of
school age.
The results shown in Table 43 indicate that for every dollar of real estate
value back of each child of school age in the state in 1910, there was $1.37
in real estate value in 1922. For every dollar of income back of each child
of school age in 1910 there was $1.64 of income in 1922 ($2.18 in 1921). In
this period each dollar disbursed for education in 1910 had increased to
$2.78 in 1922. In other words, the expenditures for pubUc education per
child of school age have nearly trebled during a period when income has
only doubled and real estate values have increased only 37 per cent. On
this basis, school expenditures have increased nearly five times as rapidly
as real estate values and more than twice as rapidly as the income of the
people of the state. Clearly, so far as real estate values and aggregate
income of the people of the state can be accepted as valid measures of
economic resources, New York was devoting a larger share of its economic
effort to the support of pubUc education in 1922 than it did in 1910.
It will be noted in Diagram 10 that the decUne in cash disbursements for
schools (per child of school age) in 1916 and 1917, due to the reduction in
capital outlay because of the war, carried the line indicating the rate of
increase below the income Une. The income Une itself rose rapidly, but
the increase went, of course, to war purposes rather than to education.
During the relatively normal period, 1912-1916, the figures show a tend-
ency for educational costs to increase at a more rapid rate than income,
and this situation is again estabhshed in 1921.
Care must be taken, however, not to leave the impression that the in-
creased expenditure per child of school age means merely an increased cost
of an identical service. It represents an increased cost of an expanded
service. During this period the public school system of the state has not
only attracted and held in school ^ a larger portion of the children of school
» It should be noted also that the costs per pupil in the higher grades are larger than in the lower grades,
so that a child held in school involves a greater expenditure than a new child entering school. In the state'
as a whole in 1910 one per cent of the population was in high school. In 1920 this figure had increased to
1.64 per cent.
ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 139
>
)
DOLLABS
tT4
■tn
-ktt
wt
Mft
tss
tfO |_
Ult
ux
tse
is»
nc
CM
tM
ttS
-uo
tlT
tu
tu
tM
SOS
DIAGRAM 10
Variations in Full Value of Real Estate, in In-
come AND IN School Expenditure, per CraLD
School Age — State op New York, 1910-1922
Based on 1910 as 100, Using Data from Table 43
IM
XN
IM
ItO
IST
in
ITS
ITS
XTt
Ut
U4
ua
uo
UT
IM
Ul
148
145
UM
U9
1S«
ISS
ISO
ICT
VU
vn
US
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UM
tot
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108
•00
tno
140 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
age, but has expanded the program. By "program " is implied not simply
a more varied or elaborate curriculum, but additional services, such as
transportation of pupils, improved administration, health service, kinder-
gartens, vocational, and continuation schools.
The data presented in the foregoing pages indicate that the expenditures
for pubUc education in the State of New York have increased since 1910
at a more rapid rate than the economic resources of the state. Plainly a
larger share of the total economic effort of the community is being devoted
to the support of pubUc schools than was the case at the beginmng of the
period. In the following chapter, some of the implications involved m
such an increase of pubhc expenditure for this purpose are discussed.
X
CHAPTER X
)
THE ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES
In Chapter IX it is shown that a larger share of the economic resources
of the community is being devoted to the support of public education. To
appraise the significance of this fact, it is necessary to understand clearly
the r61e played by education in the economic life of the community. Cur-
rent discussion shows that serious misconceptions exist both regarding the
economic significance of the educational product and regarding the character
of the economic Umitations of educational support. Although the Commis-
sion realizes that a complete treatment of these subjects would involve many
chapters and many data which are unavailable, it feels, nevertheless, that a
brief discussion may be of service in defining and clarifying the issues involved.
The fundamental propositions which this chapter seeks to establish may
be summarized thus :
Firstj that educational activity, even though publicly administered and
supported, is, in a very real sense, economically productive.
Second, that to increase the support of pubhc education means funda-
mentally that the aggregate economic resources of the community must
be increased, or that support must be diverted to education from some
other object to which it is now devoted ; that increased production is not
always easy to accompUsh ; and that diversion always involves abstinence
from objects formerly consumed and, often, because of the speciaUzed
character of economic resources, involves a degree of waste.
The quantity of additional support for education which can be made
available depends, on the one side, upon the strength of the community's
desire for what education has to offer, and the strength of its desire for
alternative products, and on the other side upon the ease with which pro-
ductivity may be increased or diversion effected. The fact that the commu-
nity is increasing its support of pubUc education is, in itself, no occasion
for alarm, or for predictions of disaster. It is of the highest importance,
however, that the community should reaUze what it is doing; that the
decisions be purposeful and inteUigent.
The Characteb of the Educational Product
No argument should be required to gain assent to the statement that
the system of pubUc education creates a certain valuable product. This
141
142 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 143
W
product is, of course, difficult to measure.* Obviously, also, it is not so
perfect a product as is desired. Doubtless in some cases its cost is un-
justifiably high.
Granting all this, however, the fundamental fact of productivity re-
mains. The system of education generates technical skill and increases
productive capacity. It tends to raise the intellectual and moral standards
of the people, and prepares them to participate intelligently in the govern-
ment of the country. In recent years it has been effectively used to im-
prove social quahties of great economic importance in such fields as health
and thrift. Finally, it makes important contributions in cultivating
powers of appreciation which determine the character of economic goods
and services demanded and consumed by the community.*
It is an equipment of such powers and quahties which constitutes the
educational product. The maintenance of this equipment is clearly a first
claim upon economic resources. In any comprehensive social balance sheet
the equipment possessed by the older generation, which has been produced
as the result of past educational effort, must be credited as an asset. This
equipment is subject to constant depletion and deterioration through age,
disease, and death. Until this, or its equivalent, has been replaced, the
commimity cannot in any true sense be said to have achieved any net in-
come whatsoever. A community may hve on its intellectual capital, and
emerge at the end of a period intellectually bankrupt.
Moreover, a growing conununity, especially if the community has a
democratic form of government, is under compulsion to provide for exten-
si(ms of the equipment, which is the product of education.' If the level of
civiUzation is not to be lowered, sufficient resources must be devoted to
education to provide this equipment for each new increment of population.
The conamunity^s balance sheet will show a gain here. The State of New
York was presumably " richer," if in 1920 it had ten and a half milUons
of educated people than it was in 1910 with only nine miUions.* However,
unless the educational equipment of the entire population, including this
increment of growth, is maintained at least at the level which obtained at
* Certain of the attempts which have been made in the past to measure the economic value of that prod-
uct have been obviously faulty, as for example, those which compare the increased earning power of highly
educated men with that of men who have received less educational training, without taking into account
the point as to whether those who received the advanced training were not a select group as compared with
those who did not, and similar questions. Here is a very difficult and complicated problem which it would
probably be profitable to investigate in a scientific manner, but which this Commission has not had the
opportunity to attack. See A. Caswell Ellis, "The Money Value of an Education," United SUtea
Bureau of Education Bulletin 1917, No. 22.
s For example, it is a matter of the most profound economic significance whether a oommunity prefers
"plain living and high thinking" to high living and low thinking.
* This discussion, it should be noted, assumes an education which really has the effect implied. A miU
lion spent on schools does not necessarily mean a million spent on eduetMtion.
* It should not be overlooked, however, that the cost of trainmg the increment of one and a half million
people is an expense which necessarily comes out of the net product of the period, and renders these re-
sources unavailable for expenditure for other purposes. The more rapid the rate of growth of a community,
the more serious is this draft upon its economic resources.
^
>
J
the beginning of the period, no true net income can be said to have been
achieved, because the menace of the uneducated increment would have
to be brought to account as a very real Uabihty. Thus the claim of the
younger generation upon the older one assumes the character of a demand
that if population is permitted to increase, the generation which is respon-
sible shall, before devoting its resources to other purposes, provide for the
integrity of the educational equipment necessary to maintain the civiHza-
tion of the now more populous group at the old level at least.
The community, then, miist spend for education so much of its available
economic resources as may be necessary to maintain the mental equipment
of the population, even though the population be increasing in size. If it
does not spend this much, civiUzation itself will decline. How much in
addition it can devote to the support of education will doubtless depend
in part upon the value placed upon the product which educational activity
offers as compared with alternative activities ; but it will depend chiefly
and fundamentally upon the balance which the community can actually
make available for education through thrift and efficiency, after the
necessary maintenance costs of society and the necessary capital reserves
have been provided for. Additional economic support cannot be provided
merely by popular devotion to the cause of education or merely by popular
sacrifices to that end.
It is pertinent to observe at this point that in educational activities hes
perhaps the highest hope of the race both for increasing its productivity
and for rationahzing its consumption. Nothing is more wasteful than
ignorance. On the side of production inteUigence in labor and manage-
ment makes for large output at low cost, and on the side of consumption
intelligence makes for socially effective use of that product. A given edu-
cational expenditure is of great economic significance, if it so transforms
the scale of values of a rich young man that he secures greater satisfaction
from some form of professional activity than from a Ufe devoted to the
pursuit of undisciphned desires, or so transforms the scale of values of a
factory worker that he prefers to devote his leisure to intellectual pursuits,
rather than to long evenings of mental inertia.^
From the point of view of ultimate effects upon the economic resources
of the nation, the support of scientific research takes on all the glamour
of a promising speculation, which, at relatively sUght cost and risk, holds
forth the possibility of undreamed-of expansions in productivity .2 The
justification of this statement rests on examples like the following : The
» The poesible contribution of education to the problem of the more rational use of leisure time con-
stitutes a promising field for an independent investigation.
« Moreover, in casting up the accounts, it is only fair to view the research situation in a very broad way
and to "consolidate the accounts" of the various institutions. Thus the cost of a dosen agricultural ex-
penment stations may be offset by a valuable contribution from a single worker in one of them. If it is
necessary to offer technical training to a thousand mediocre men in order that the door of opportunity shaU
be open to the one genius who will make the great contribution, the eq>enditure may be justified.
■^<
I
II
li
144 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
entire modern industrial system in its enormous capacity for production de-
veloped from the epoch-making researches of Watt in Glasgow, and
Faraday in the Royal Institution at London. In comparison with the
fabulous increases in wealth and productive power that have resulted from
these studies, the costs of the mvestigations themselves are totally negU-
gible. According to Huxley, Pasteur's discoveries for preventing anthrax,
silkworm disease, and chicken cholera added annually to France's wealth
a sum equivalent to the entire indemnity of the war of 1870. One of the
most valuable remedies known to medical science was discovered m a
research institute at Frankfort, Germany, the annual income of which was
not over $20,000 a year. No one can calculate accurately the added
production Ukely to follow the recent discovery in a Canadian university
of insuUn and its possibiUties for prolonging the hves of diabetics, many
of whom are persons of abihty and certain to " produce," if only they can
be kept in health. The discoveries of a certain member of the faculty at
Columbia University, under a conservative estimate, will add to the wealth
of the country a sum larger than the entire cost of the university from its
pre-revolutionary beginnings to the present. A new process for manu-
facturing coke, discovered at the University of lUinois, may add more
to the wealth of the state than the total appropriations which the state uni-
versity is hkely to receive in the next century. Much the same claim
could be safely made for the Babcock milk test discovered at the University
of Wisconsin. Instances of claiming to add miUions to the wealth of a
state by a few thousands spent on research in its agricultural experiment
station are frequent. Among such instances, at least the following have
a substantial basis of fact : SoU treatment, development of superior strains
of grains, increased egg production, control of various plant diseases, sera
for preventing diseases of farm animals, grasshopper control, and preven-
tion of loss in stored grain from insects.
Some of the activities with which public education competes for support
are public and some are private in character. By virtue of its position as
a public function, education suffers, with other pubUc activities, from a
misconception which appears to be widely imbedded in the public mind
Men often write and talk as if aU pubUc activity were mere waste, and as
if the payment of taxes closely resembled the act of throwing money into
the sea. This is indeed a superficial view. A tax in a modern democracy
tends to approach a deliberate payment of an equitable amount toward
the cost of certain desired objects and services which can be more efficiently
supplied by collective rather than by individual action.
It is true that the products of governmental activity often contribute
mdirectly rather than du^ctly to the satisfaction of human wants, and
often they are necessary only because of the frailties and shortcomings of
human nature. Again, because of the character of the tax systems in vogue
!
J
ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 145
benefits and tax burdens are often out of proportion. Finally, because of
the shortcomings of pubUc administration, costs in governmental under-
takings are often high when judged by standards attained in private under-
takings. Yet it is certainly true that, speaking broadly, economic resources
are expended upon a collective enterprise under public authority because of
a belief that, devoted to such a purpose, even with such standards of
efficiency as actually obtain in the public service, the resources are more
highly productive than if devoted to individual activities. Certainly
activities cannot properly be labeled unproductive simply because they are
carried on by a government rather than an individual. The economic
character of the product is not fundamentally changed simply because it
is produced by collective rather than by individual action.
A second popular misconception is that which groups all public activi-
ties together and considers them as a single claim upon economic resources
which ranks below the claim of all private activities. If the various items
of community consumption could be arranged on a scale indicating their
order of importance, all of the individually-produced items would not ap-
pear together at the top of the scale and all of the collectively-produced
items at the bottom. On the contrary the two types of products would be
intermingled. Collective protection of person and property might appear
near the very top together with the first units of food, clothing, and shelter.
All down the scale, governmental products would be found to be com-
peting actively for position with individually-produced items. The process
is not one of disposing of a rigidly fixed total of resources by first supplying
all demands for individually-produced items and then allowing the various
collectively-controlled services to scramble for what may be left. The
scramble for resources at the margin is as likely to be between two private
as between two pubUc activities — between motion pictures and the theater
as between motor-cycle policemen and school teachers.
Economically sound decisions as to what things shall be done by the
government and what shall be left to private enterprise must rest funda-
mentally on the answer to the question as to which course of action will
yield the greatest possible net product of want-satisfying goods and serv-
ices. Since the conditions governing productivity are subject to con-
stant change, the scope of public activity is also subject to constant change.
The proper scope today is very different from that in the past — even the
recent past — because of changing capacity for collective activity and
changing valuations of products.
The fact that public activities usually require resort to taxation thus
appears as a relatively superficial circumstance. Fundamentally a tax
system is a series of devices for distributing costs of public activities
in the manner which corresponds most closely with prevailing standards
of justice and equity. It cannot in any real sense be described as
economically " productive." It is the public activities which are pro-
ii
11
II
146 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
ductive and the tax system is only the machinery for transferring eco-
nomic resources from the taxpayers to the govermnent to meet the costs
of these activities. It is then a mistake to think of a tax system as a flow-
ing sprmg It IS at best no more than a pump. Many of our commu-
nities are badly m need of new pumping machinery, but it is well to remem-
ber that a new pump is no cure for a dry well.
The Increase and Diversion op Educationai, Support
It becomes clear, then, that educational activity produces a certain val-
uable product at a certain cost. Increasing the resources to be devoted
to education is not primarily a problem of discovering new and unsuspected
sources of pubhc revenue. It is rather a problem of persuading the com-
mumty to devote its available resources to the support of educational
activity to the extent that the educational product promises a more valu-
able return than other alternative activities.
In the light of the facts regarding the elasticity of human r.ants and
capacity for consumption, there can be no denial of the reality of the limi-
tations upon expenditures imposed by the relative scarcity of resources.
The community sunply cannot produce aU it would like to consume and it
cannot continue, over an extended period, to consume more than it pro-
duces It may desire an educational product which involves lareer eJc-
penditures, but it also desires more automobiles, more motor roads, better
houses and clothmg, and many other things. A selection is necessary -
a selection based upon the value which the community attaches to each of
these various products.
However to admit that there are economic limitations is not equivalent
to the assertion that the productive capacity of the community is faed
m a veor precise or rigid sense. What degree of discomfort in productive
effort the community is willing to assume wiU depend in large part upon
how badly It wants the things which the additional effort wiU b,?ng forth
There are undoubtedly considerable reserves of energy. A conmunity
may desire to continue to enjoy eveiything it now consumes an~S
addition desire a larger educational product strwngly enough to counter-
balance the discomforts of the additional effort nLs^rf^s^Z^
^ZkZr "°* *"'''""° "' ^•'''°*"^'' '""'^ °' t^ '^tai«'tion of
Zt cuZf "^"^ ''"'r^ productivity. In other words, the statement
ited S ••'""^'^P '°° "^r ^ "^trieted to income currently pro-
Iri •" ««°«'^,«»"'''J' does not preclude the possibiUty that in-
come in any given period may be increased because of the stimulus supplied
ma! oonr' It T'"^ consumption. La^jer educational expenSrS
n 'T :u^\ ^ covered by increases in economic productivtty
On the other hand, even if the community does not want the additional
educationai product badly enough to work harder or more inteuSntly to
1
-i
ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 147
secure it, the option still remains of substituting the educational product
for some other product which is now included in the community's pro-
gram of consumption. This is the rational thing to do, if the community
really prefers the educational product. This involves diversion of resources
rather than the expansion of aggregate resources.
In view of the importance of diversion it is desirable to discuss
the process in some detail. It is often assumed that the problem of
economic Hmitation has been satisfactorily disposed of when statistics
have been cited regarding the amounts spent for education as compared
with the expenditures for soft drinks or cosmetics or advertising. If the
purpose and the result are to persuade the community that their values
are false and cheap when they prefer such things to education, such argu-
ment is beyond criticism. If, however, the inference is drawn that
the amounts involved in supplying education are so trifling that there
is no need of considering the pro^ !em serious!; , the use of this argument
administers an anaesthetic to a patient who i;. : .ally in need of a stimulant.
If resources now going to the support of so-called "wasteful consumption "
are to be diverted to the support of objects such as pubUc education, the
community must be brought to a pomt where it is willing to steel itself
to the abstinences and costs involved in the diversion.
The character of the abstinences and costs involved in diversion may be
made clear by means of an illustration. Suppose that all of the citizens
of the State of New York were to decide suddenly to give up the use of
soft drinks and to divert the resources hitherto devoted to the production
and sale of soft drinks to the support of pubhc education. The first point
to note is that the abstinence from soft drinks would mean the disappear-
ance of that group of satisfactions which their consumption had created —
satisfactions which operated as a stimulus to such effort as was necessary
to secure them. These " soft-drink satisfactions" are sacrificed to secure
more highly-desired " educational satisfactions," but abstinence from the
soft drinks is clearly involved.
To keep the iUustration simple, let it be assumed that aU of the activities
involved in producing and marketing the soft drinks formerly consumed
by the people of the state were performed by persons within the borders
of the state. What has happened, economically, as a result of the decision
to give up soft drinks? First of aU, the purchasing power is now with-
drawn from soft drinks and there is no further use in this field for the serv-
ices and capital formerly devoted to its manufacture and sale.* If the
workers who formerly made and sold soft drinks were highly skilled and
speciaUzed, there will certainly be a shrinkage in their power to produce
rfJw^h!r*!r ** '" " "^"^ "^^ ^ marketed elsewhere. That they can be marketed at the same price
^rmTc^" " '"m"" "/'' ^'"'^"^ '" •"'' '*""''« ^'^'^*»«"- To market them ebewhe.. at^
Y^r^tL Zn rt^T^'"' ""^""'r " "?**""''* °' '*^" '^ ""^^^^ *^« produf^TB in other states than New
XOTK ratber than a reductum m the total amount of the loss.
ij
148 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
articles valued by the community involved in their transfer from their
old work to some new work. If the capital formerly employed in making
and marketing the soft drinks is of a character that cannot be readily de-
voted to the next most valuable alternative use there will certainly be a
shrinkage in its value. Consequently the sudden decision to eschew soft
drinks will not immediately render available for purposes of pubhc educa-
tion an amount of economic resources of a value precisely equal to those
which were formerly represented by the expenditures for soft drinks. The
amount rendered available will be a sum which is smaller by the amount
of the shrinkages noted above.
This illustration reveals some of the qualifications which must be kept
in mind in interpreting the statistics of resources. The figures quoted in
the preceding chapter (page 132) relating to the wealth of the State of
New York and the total income of the people of that state do not by any
means represent resources which are fully or immediately available to any
new product which the conununity desires. They do not represent so
many dollars in coin. In modern times money has largely ceased to be
used as a store of wealth. They represent rather so many dollars ' worth
of goods and services. Moreover, these resources are already largely
pledged and unavailable for alternative uses. Upon them the commu-
nity must draw for the satisfaction of all its economic needs. To a con-
siderable extent they are specialized in character and ill-adapted to any
other use. The supply of goods prepared for final consumption which is
on hand at any one time forms but a small portion of the aggregate.
It must not be overlooked, however, that even the most specialized
instruments of production are constantly being worn out and replaced.^
If the transfer of public demand from one product to another be not too
sudden and too rapid to permit old specialized instruments of production to
be used up, the waste involved in the transfer may be greatly lessened by
the policy of reinvestment of depreciation funds.
Certain types of wealth and income can be easily and economically
diverted to other uses. Moreover even if such diversion does involve a
certain amount of apparent waste, this does not preclude the possi-
bility or benefit of making the diversion. Beating swords into plow-
shares is obviously not, as a rule, the most economical method of manu-
facturing agricultural implements. But if the values of the community
should undergo a change which would make a supply of swords entirely
superfluous, this course of action would become economically sound.
Aside from its immediate availability for desired purposes, the mere
quantity of the accumulated wealth of a community is a valuable index of
economic power. The possession of a large stock of it implies ability on
» Income is. indeed, not deemed to be net untfl an aUowanoe has been made to cover the ooat of such
worn-out equipment.
,)
^
ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 149
the part of the community to produce and save. The precise form which
the bulk of these savings have taken in the past may not be well suited to
diversion to the support of education, but the mere existence of stocks
of wealth raises a presumption regarding the productive power of the com-
munity which may in the future be diverted to a greater or less extent
from present objects to others, including perhaps the support of education.
With respect to certain of the claims upon economic resources with
which education must compete, it is possible to quote definite figures.
One such claim is the demand for increased amounts of capital for use in
future production.
In general, it is true that to live beyond the income currently produced
means economic retrogression.^ It is possible, for limited periods, to " live
upon capital," but this cannot be continued for an extended period with-
out reducing the size of the social income. In times of great stress, when
the values at stake are so tremendous as to justify the sacrifice, capital is
sometimes burned up in this manner.
However, except for temporary lapses such as those caused by great
wars, modern economic history has not been a story of retrogression,
but one of rapid progress. The total physical product today is many
times that of a century ago. It has much more than kept up with the
increase of population. This increase is due largely to the fact that the
people have not spent their entire current income for consumption goods,
but have rather saved a part and devoted it to the building up of the cap-
ital fund.2 The hope of continued economic progress is based to a con-
siderable degree upon the possibility of continuing this policy.
Until recently no reliable estimate was available concerning the size of
the sums annually devoted to the increase in the capital fund. Fortu-
nately, however, a careful study by Dr. W. I. King of the National Bureau
of Economic Research has just been published in the Journal of the Ameri-
can Statistical Society.^ Dr. King concludes that the country as a whole
saved the following percentage of its aggregate income in the years indi-
cated:
Year
Pbbcbntaoe
Yeab
Percentage
Year
Percentage
1909
1910
1911
1912
17.1
17.1
13.7
15.6
1913
1914
1915
1916
13.8
12.5
21.
27.4
1917
1918
16.9
-3.1
» Such a statement as this ignores the possibUity of improvements in the technique of production which
would make existing capital more productive or changes in the character of the products demanded in
favor of products requiring relatively small capital in their production.
» It is not the intention to overlook the importance of improvements in industrial technique which rest
in turn largely upon scientific discoveries, one of the most important fruits of education itself
> December. 1922, p. 467.
• t
J; i
150 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE 44
TAXES* FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION » IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK COM-
PARED WITH TAXES FOR OTHER PURPOSES, 1910, 1915, AND 1920
Taxes pob Education ONiiT (in Dollabs)
IMO
itif
IttO
Federal'
State
Local
$ 68,000
7,696,727
48,914,785
$ 116,587
9,545,064
66,019,995
$ . 636,868
16,824,425
96,677,198
TotAl
$56,679,512
$75,681,646
$114,138,491
Total Taxes Paid for All Purposes (in Dollars)
Federal*
State
Local
$ 61,045,303
34,362,760
228,578,000
$ 74,039,736
38,045,124
237,427,372
$ 739,570,410
108,076,349
379,654,109
Total
$323,986,063
$349,512,232
$1,227,300,868
^ The figtires for educational expenditure represent only that part of such expenditures met from taxes
in that year.
* The figures for federal taxes spent for education are the actual amount paid to the State of New York
and to New York institutions for educational purposes.
* The actvial amount of federal taxes paid by New York taxpayers b not available. The amount assigned
to New York was obtained by adding (1) the actual personal income tax pajrments during the fiscal year
1914-1915 and (2) a share of other federal revenues determined by the proportion which the population of
the state bears to the total United States population. In 1920, personal income tax assessments for the
calendar year 1920, rather than fiscal year collections, were used as a basis for assigning to New York its
share of that tax. This basis of distribution was decided upon, after considerable study, as on the whole
the most satisfactory available. If New York's share is determined on the basis of actual collections of all
federal taxes within the bordera of the state, the figure of $739,570,410 for 1920 becomes approximately
$1,422,800,000. If the amount credited to New York is determined on the basis of the income of the
people of the state as compared with the income of the people of the country in general, the figure
of $739,570,410 becomes $779,214,900.
* Meaning tax moneys expended.
The average saving for the period is estimated at 15.6 per cent of the
total income.* In terms of the present income of the people of the United
States this means that approximately eight and a half billions of dollars are
saved and reinvested each year. In other words, the rate of economic
progress * to which we are accustomed can be obtained only by continuing
to save about one-sixth of the income of the community.
Another competing demand upon economic resources concerning which
it is possible to quote statistics is the demand for product of governmental
activities other than education. The available figures are of two types.
The first set, presented in Table 44 and Diagram 11, relate to taxes collected,
and the second set, presented in Table 45 and Diagram 12, relate to net
expenditures made (cash disbursements).
> Needless to say, these figures are rough approximations ; but they are the best approximations yet
available.
> In so far as this depends upon the continued extension of the capital fund.
>
^
r
t u
ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OP EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 151
TABLE 44 (ConHnued)
PER-CAPrTA AMOUNTS
Taxbs fob Education Onlt (in DoliiARs)
IflO
IMS
IttO
Federal
State
Local
$ .01
.84
5.37
$ .01
.98
6.77
$ .06
1.62
9.31
Total
$6.22
$7.76
$10.99
Total Taxbs Paid (in Dollars)
Federal
State .
Local
Total
^ 6.70
3.77
25.08
$35.55
I 7.60
3.90
24.35
$35.85
$71.21
10.41
36.56
$118.18
PORTION OF THE TAX DOLLAR DEVOTED TO EDUCATION GN CENTS)
1910 Tax DolUr
191i Tax DolUr
19f 0 Tax Dollar
Education
AUPur-
poaea
Education
AU Pur-
poses
Education
AU Pur-
poses
Federal
State
Local
$.02
.15
$ .19
.11
.70
$.03
.19
$ .21
.11
.68
5
$.01
.08
$ .60
.09
.31
Total
$.17
$1.00
$.22
$1.00
$.09
$1.00
■ Less than i cent.
It is apparent that the total taxes of the people of the State of New York,
according to this estimate, more than trebled in the period 1910-1920.
Taxes for education, on the other hand, only doubled. These figures
include an estimate of New York's share of federal taxes, so that the increase
in federal taxation for war purposes makes its influence felt.
When the federal taxes are eliminated from the computation it is found
that whereas education absorbed 21.5 per cent of all state and local taxes
in the State of New York in 1910, it consumed 23.3 per cent m 1920 and
30.0 per cent in 1921.^ In other words, in the field of state and local taxa-
tion the taxes for education are growing more rapidly than taxes for com-
peting objects publicly supplied.
On the basis of an estimated income for the people of the State of New
York of 9.1 billions in 1920, 13.49 per cent was taken in taxation to finance
activities collectively administered under governmental control. Taxes
for education required 1.25 per cent of the income.
1 The underlying figures for 1921 are as follows : Total taxes (state and local), $524.774,651 ; amount to
education, $157,458,088.
o
152 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
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of
o
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o
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^
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^^^^^^^^H
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a
^Kt^^^H
^^H^^^H
•i
— A.
^HI^^H
^^^^^H
«•
o
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_
^^^H
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or
o
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c
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u
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• A
ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 153
TABLE 45
NET EXPENDITURES (CASH DISBURSEMENTS) OF STATE AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO PURPOSE —
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1910, 1915, AND 1920 »
Education
Streets and Highways ....
Protection of Person and Property
Charities and Corrections . . .
General Government ....
Public Utilities*
Health and Sanitation ....
AU Other
Total
AOOREOATE AmOTTNTS IN MlIiUONB OF DOLIiiiBS
1910
59.6
67.4
40.7
21.6
36.0
87.4
2L1
39.8
$373.6
19U
84.8
84.5
43.9
34.8
44.8
74.0
26.5
41.3
$434.6
IttO
$117.3
106.0
73.0
63.8
63.6
58.1
50.2
76.2
$608.2
Percentage of
Increase,
1920 over 1910
96.8
57.3
79.4
195.4
76.7
-33.5
137.9
91.5
62.8
Education
Streets and Highways
Protection of Person and Property . .
Charities and Corrections
General Government
Public Utilities
Health and Sanitation
Mother
Total
Percentage op Total Spent por Each
Purpose
1910
16.0
18.0
10.9
5.8
9.6
23.4
5.6
10.7
100.0
191B
19.5
19.5
10.1
8.0
10.3
17.0
6.1
9.5
100.0
IMO
19.3
17.4
12.0
10.5
10.4
9.6
8.3
12.5
100.0
» The figures for state expenditures were obtained from the reports of the State Comptroller. Those
for the local districts were secured from the Comptroller's " Reports of Mimicipal Accounts, " Reports of
the State Education Department, and the United States Census Reports on Financial Statistics of Cities.
Capital outlay and interest are included in the figures. Where it was necessary to estimate the amount of
interest to be allocated to a given purpose the ratio of debt for that purpose to the total debt m that district
was applied to the total interest payments of the district. In estimating capital outlay for different pur-
poses, the proportion of total capital outlay for each purpose in other districts of the same class was applied
to total capital outlays in those districts where no classification of outlays was obtainable. In the smaller
jurisdictions where no division of outlays was obtainable for any district, the proportions occurring in larger
districts were used. Some error is probably involved in this last step, but no better method of estimating
was available, and in any case the amounts mvolved were small enough to be negligible. In 1910, and to a
smaller degree in 1915, the Reports of Municipal Accounts contain no figures for a number of local districts.
Estimates for these have been supplied by assuming that expenditures were the same as average expenditures
in districts of similar sixe and character.
« These amounts represent for the most part capital outlay for projects which are largely self-supporting.
The diminution in the amount is due almost entirely to the drop of the expenditures for the water supply
■ystem in the City of New York.
The second table and diagram make possible a more detailed com-
parison. There the expenditures of the state and local governments
154 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
i
iii
11 '■
ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES 155
S
)
(including federal subventions) are classified to show which of the several
types of governmental activity are gaining and which are losing in relative
position. It is apparent that the increase in educational expenditures is
not an isolated one. In fact the expenditures for both " Charities and
Corrections" and "Health and Sanitation" have risen even more rapidly
than education. But in 1920 education absorbed a slightly greater per-
centage of the total expenditures than it did in 1910 — 19.3 per cent as
compared with 16 per cent.
It is in the presence of demands of this character and magnitude, in
addition to the desire to increase hying standards generally by expenditures
for articles of consumption, produced privately rather than through gov-
ernment activities, that education must seek its additional support.
Clearly the support can be greatly increased, if the people are wiUing to
meet the conditions. But as it is impossible to estimate how far the com-
munity is able and wilUng to increase production and to countenance di-
version, it is also unpossible to estimate in aify quantitative manner the
limits of additional support.
The discussion of the Hmitations of additional support should take
cognizance of the very human desire to eat one's cake and have it too.
There are some who are eager for additional educational advantages only
because they expect that some one else will make the effort or assume the
abstinence and wastes of diversion. The burden must finally come to
rest somewhere in the community, but unfortunately, because of the crude-
ness of machinery for securing decisions as to what the community wants
in the way of public activities and the crudeness of the processes of taxa-
tion, of ttimes the bill which is finally presented to the individual taxpayer
for settlement does not appeal to him as a fair one. The decision with
regard to pubhc expenditures is a group decision, but the decisions re-
garding production effort are predominantly individual decisions. This
situation gives rise to unfortunate reflex economic effects. When a tax-
payer feels that he is not getting his money's worth, he will not cheerfully
make the economic effort necessary to secure the money to pay his taxes
and will use every possible means of reducing them. The economic hmita-
tions, consequently, interlock intimately with compHcated problems of
governmental organization and the technique of taxation.
J
CHAPTER XI
THE PROBLEM OF SCHOOL FOTAMCE W RELATION TO THE REVEITOB
SYSTEM OF THE STATE
It fa clear that the hope for a solution of the financial problem of pubUc
education in the State of New York does not lie in the direction of the dfa-
covery of some unsuspected "new source of revenue." It has been
shown that education fa now the most costly pubUc function performed by
the state and its subdivfaions, accounting for nearly twenty cents out of
each dollar spent. Improved taxation for schoob resolves itself into the
question of tax reform in general in the State of New York.
If the dfacussion of the present revenue system of the state were to be
dismissed with a sentence, it would perhaps be best to say that it fa neither
so bad as to operate as a serious limitation in the present school-finance
situation nor yet so good but that certain important changes are not de-
sirable. New York has been one of the few states which has faced its
fiscal problem squarely and taken steps to put its system of taxation into
harmony with the changed conditions which have come about in the last
few decades. But the reform of the revenue system fa by no means com-
plete even yet and, if the yeara which he ahead bring with them greatly in-
creased demands for revenues, further fundamental readjustments in the
system will undoubtedly become imperative.
The System op Taxation
The exfatence of a Joint Legislative Committee on Taxation and Re-
trenchment, which, under the chairmanship of Senator Frederick M
Davenport has been making an elaborate survey of the revenue system of
the state, has rendered it unnecessary for the Commfasion to undertake
an original mvestigation in thfa field. Close codperation was estabUshed
with the Davenport Committee,' including arrangements for the inter-
change of certam data, and the Commission fa fortunate in being able to re-
fer readers to the report of the Committee for a full statement of the manner
in which the present revenue system fa operating and for a discussion of
those portions of the system which appear to be in need of alteration.* The
1 TK. aZL. . , ! . «>■""'<'«« h" connection since that time in an adriaorv caoacitv
n„n.^s:Swrrr'.9« ■■ A.;^Tb 'lI' r"^ ^oint Co^^tte. on T.».J^ "Z:;^
b. ^^ to Senator ,^4 .^'''Z^pfn.'g^LSrS^iSLi!^- ^^'^^'^^
156
H
SCHOOL FINANCE AND THE STATE'S REVENUE SYSTEM 157
chief characteristics of the tax system as it now stands are set forth in
Chapter VII (see pages 107-115).
Changes Suggested by the Joint Legislative Committee. — The recom-
mendations of this Joint Legislative Committee relate chiefly to the re-
adjustment of the taxes on business. It reports that the special forms of
taxation appUed to financial institutions and public utiUties are operating
in an unequal manner and suggests that a new " gross-net " income tax
be substituted for the present taxes on utihties, and that the regular busi-
ness mcome tax be apphed to financial institutions. It recommends
further that unincorporated businesses be subjected to a tax on net income
at a shghtly lower rate than corporations.
With respect to motor vehicles, the legislative committee urges the adop-
tion of a gasoUne tajc and the readjustment of fees, particularly those of
naotor trucks, so as to make the taxes correspond as closely as possible to
the road costs.
The property tax, which supplies so large a share of the school revenues ^
should, according to the legislative committee, be made purely a real
estate tax and personal property should be entirely exempted « The
so-called " direct " state tax on real estate, that is, the portion of the real
estate rate imposed for state as contrasted with local purposes, should
the Davenport Committee beUeves, be abandoned at the earUest possible
moment m the hope that this action will bring a measure of reHef to real
estate. It is interesting to note this suggestion in connection with some
of the conclusions reached in Chapter XII (see page 174) regarding state
aid for schools.
Tlie administration of the property tax is susceptible of improvement
in the opimon of the committee. It urges that " a constitutional amend-
ment be submitted which will make possible a thoroughgoing reform of real
estate assessments through the establishment of larger tax districts, officered
by skilled assessors, functioning under a higher degree of central super-
vision and control."' It recommends, further, that the statutes be
amended so as to centraUze the coUection of school taxes levied against
pubhc utihties.*
These, then, constitute the next steps m tax reform in the State of
New York, m the opmion of the official committee of the State Leg-
islature. It is of interest to compare the situation as it now exists
and the recommended changes with the Plan of a Model System of
State and Local Taxation prepared by a committee of the National Tax
Association.
> See p. 108.
• VoII^e^iJXp'ir'* '^'^ " in«i«nificant amount of pergonal property is now subject to tax.
it l^T^^^'Tr' '''*'~' **^*"u* "^'^ ^" •*" ^'^ ^'^ ''°"«<'*°^- 0^« PublicutUity company testified that
it pa.d school taxes to more than 4.900 separate districts. Reference cited, p. 60. ^ noteT d m
«l the present volume for statement regarding legislation in 1923 . p «". oee note i. p. 113,
158 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Comparison with the '' Model Plan " of the National Tax Association.—
In 1918, " The Committee Appointed by the National Tax Association to
Prepare a Plan of a Model System of State and Local Taxation," com-
posed of a notable group of authorities on the theory and practice of
taxation,! submitted a preUminary report.* Most students agree with
Dr. T. S. Adams in regarding " this report as one of the wisest and most
helpful statements ever pubhshed concerning the proper structure of the
tax system of the American state." The report deals " with the general
principles upon which a model system of taxation may be constructed,
and with the general framework of such a system." The principles and
framework have won general approval and their elaboration is being carried
forward by various special committees of the Association.
At the beginning, the report points out that there is a definite conviction
in the minds of the people of this country, as revealed by the statutes
of the various states, regarding the correctness of the following three
propositions :
First, " That every person having taxable ability should pay some sort
of a direct personal tax to the government under which he is domiciled
and from which he receives the personal benefits that government confers " ;
Second, " That tangible property,' by whomsoever owned, should be
taxed by the jurisdiction in which it is located, because it there receives
protection and other government benefits and services " ; and
Third, '' That business carried on for profit in any locahty should be
taxed for the benefits it receives."
These propositions are, in the opinion of the Committee on Model Plan,
essentially sound and just, although in their application in the past many
of the methods used have been illogical and inconsistent. That the future
tax system of the states will be based on these three propositions is def-
initely afl&rmed in the following forceful paragraph ;
"Whatever one may think of any or all of these principles, the fact remains that they
undoubtedly represent hard facts which any new system of taxation must take into
account. That they are not in many cases logically and consistently applied, admits
» The membership of the Committee waa as follows :
Charles J. Bullock, Harvard University. Chairman,
T. S. Adams, Yale University,
Charles V. Galloway, State Tax Commissioner of Oregon.
Samuel T, Howe. Kansas Tax Commission,
Celsus P. Link, Colorado Tax Commission,
Samuel Lord, Minnesota Tax Commission,
Ogden L. Mills, Congressman, City of New York,
Thomas W. Page, University of Virginia,
A. C. Rearick, Attorney at Law, City of New York,
W. L. Tarbet, Illinois Central Railroad Company.
« Copies of the report may be secured by addressing A. E. Holoomb. Secretwy-Treasurer, National Tax
Assocmt^n, 195 Broadway New York, N. Y. The report is dated September, 1918, and is available "
the pnnted volume of the Proceedmgs of the Association for 1919, pp. 426-470.
» A sharp diflference of opinion exists among students of taxation as to whether all tangible oroDertv
•hould be so taxed or merely real estate. For the tendency in the SUte of New York seep 108
•'>>
4
SCHOOL FINANCE AND THE STATE'S REVENUE SYSTEM 159
of no doubt ; that they sometimes lead to confusion and involve unjust double taxation
L and disregard of interstate comity, cannot be questioned. But the committee believes
that there is merit in each of these principles, even though they have been frequently
misappUed ; and is satisfied that the laws in which the principles are embodied will not
be changed except to give place to statutes that provide fairer and more logical methods
of carrying the principles into eflFect."
The solution which the Committee on Model Plan proposes is a diversi-
fied tax system of three main elements corresponding to the three princi-
ples set forth above. In its opinion, every legitimate claim of every state
can be met and unequal and unjust double taxation can be avoided by the
general adoption of this plan. In the main this consists of :
First, " A personal tax ^ which shall be levied consistently upon the prin-
ciple of taxing everyone at his place of domicile for the support of the
government under which he Uves ; "
Second, " A property tax on tangible property, levied objectively where
such property has its situs and without regard to ownership or personal
conditions;" and
Third, " For such states as desire to tax business, a business tax which
shall be levied upon all business carried on within the jurisdiction of the
authority levying such tax."
In addition the Committee on Model Plan contemplates the continu-
ance of certain other sources of revenue such as fees, special assessments,
inheritance taxes, etc.
Comparing the situation in New York with the Model Plan, it is appar-
ent that New York already has a comprehensive personal income tax of
the general character recommended by the Committee. Its scope is
somewhat too broad to suit the National Tax Association Committee in
that certain types of personal income of non-residents are subject to the
tax, but this will be rectified if the recommendations of the Davenport
Committee are adopted by the legislature.
New York also has a firmly estabUshed business income tax of restricted
scope. It will be recalled that the Davenport Legislative Committee rec-
ommends that its scope be extended by making its appUcation as broad as
business itself.* The state is apparently on the road to the complete
exemption of tangible personal property, rather than its taxation at a
light rate, an arrangement which, while not urged by the National Tax As-
sociation Committee, is not in conflict with the principles of its Model
Plan.
The point at which New York falls farthest short of the standard set
in the Model Plan is with respect to the organization of its local assess-
ment machinery. Here a very faulty condition still obtains in spite of the
improvements resulting from the supervision of the State Tax Commission.
1 This, in the opinion of the Committee, should be based on net income
« See p. 157.
f
160 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
il
Here again, however, the situation will be remedied by the adoption of the
Davenport Legislative Committee's recommendations.^
Conclusions. — The Educational Finance Inquiry Commission presents
the above analysis and comparison as an indication of the present status
of tax reform in the State of New York and of the opinion of the author-
ities quoted regarding its probable course of future legislation. Further
than this it does not feel called upon to go.
It should be observed, however, that tax reform is constantly condi-
tioned by circimistances. An improvement in the standard of public ad-
ministration would make feasible certain refinements of taxation which
are debarred from consideration because of the grade of administrative
skill necessary to their use. Similarly improvements in private account-
ing and in taxpayers* cooperation would affect the situation in a funda-
mental manner. The effects of redistricting the state for school tax pur-
poses are discussed in Chapter XII (pages 161, 162, 166-176).
1 See p. 157.
CHAPTER XII
THE SIZE OF THE UNIT FOR SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM
OF STATE AID
The problem of financing public education is profoundly affected by
the manner in which educational functions are divided among the various
poUtical divisions of the state and the manner in which the state is dis-
tricted for raising school funds.
The area included within the boundaries of the State of New York
varies widely in its economic character. The state is predominantly ur-
ban ; approximately 83 per cent of the total population in 1920 were living
in places having more than 2,500 inhabitants each, and more than one-half
of the entire population of the state were living in the City of New York
alone. Nevertheless, more than 1,750,000 persons lived in the open coun-
try or in villages of less than 2,500. The state not only includes highly
developed industrial and commercial districts, but it includes also large
agricultural areas of varying degrees of fertility and large tracts of sparsely
inhabited mountain land suitable only for forest growth and of very small
value.
If the state were to be split into small districts and each district required
to provide by local taxation the entire cost of maintaining its own schools,
wide variations would necessarily result either in the educational facihties
furnished, or in the rates of taxation for educational purposes. In some of
the districts where the tax-pajdng abiUty of the residents is low, the
number of children of school age is large, and the cost of providing school
facihties high, the burden of supporting a very modest educational offer-
ing might be crushing in weight. On the other hand, if the state were to
regard public education exclusively as a state function, to be supported
by taxation on a state-wide basis, the state's economic resources might be
gathered into a single pool, in which case the educational facilities of the
poor sections would be limited, not by the size of local resources alone, but
by the size of the resources of the state as a whole.^
* In Delaware the entire support of schools for the state minimum requirement is furnished by the
state. In addition a relatively small amount (only 8.5% of the total school revenues) came from local taxes
and other local sources for capital outlay and debt service caused by new building projects not included
in state support. Ninety per cent of this additional revenue was raised in the city of Wilmington. In
Maryland certain minimum standards are maintained by providing that after a 67 cent county tax has
been levied on a state-wide equalised assessment the state will provide the funds necessary to complete the
amount required to maintain this minimum. In California the state provides 35 per cent of the cost of
maintaining the elementary schools and a little over 50 per cent of the corresponding cost for high schools.
161
r
' I
162 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The present arrangement is a compromise. Legally, public education
IS a state function, but the state has delegated the function to the local-
ities while still retaining certain powers, hke that of prescribing mini-
mum standards, and supplying partial state support from funds suppHed
from state-wide taxes. In 1922, when the total cash disbursements of the
public school system amounted to 196 miUion dollars, the state grants
to the localities were nearly 37 miUions. In this year the localities
themselves raised $138,030,994.1 The plan by which state support is
distributed among the locaUties has been described.* It remains to
examine its results in actual operation and to study school expenditures
m relation to economic resources under various assumptions regarding the
size and character of school districts.
The Operation of the Present System of Subventions
The character of the present system of subventions is described in de-
tail m Chapter VI. Almost all of the state aid is distributed primarily
on a per-teacher quota basis which varies with the classification of the
school district and in the case of one of the quotas, with the assessed
valuation m the district. Approximately one-half of the state aid is entirely
unaffected by the richness of the local economic resources back of the
teacher, and the portion which is so affected is aUocated in a manner which
favors both the very rich and the very poor localities at the expense of those
which are moderately well off.
Being convinced that the importance of the problem justified a some-
what extended investigation, the Commission undertook to classify the
available data so as to reveal in detail the operation of the present sub-
vention system under the present organization of school districts on the
basis of 1920 costs and subventions. The increase in state aid since 1920
(see page 102) should be borne in mind in considering the figures. The de-
tails of this study are too elaborate for full presentation in this report,
but the main results are summarized in Table 46.^
In the first column it will be noted that the largest amount of real estate
value per child of school age ($7,750) is found in the rural districts where
the average daily attendance in the schools is five or less, and that the
smallest amount ($3,717) of real estate per child is found in the villages. As
» The remainder is accounted for by federal support, by state support in othftr forms than grants to the
localities, and by loans of various types. •" •"«
» See pp. 92-101.
» In making the detailed study the fiscal year ending July 31. 1920. has been chosen as the latest year for
which complete data are available. A separate study has been made of each city and each of the villages
under supermtendents. For union and common school districts samples have been used. Union schoST
as the term « used m this study, include all schools outside of the cities and villages named above, giving
one or more years of hush school work. From these, one school, the first alphabetically, offering four years
of high school work, was chosen from each county. The same method of selection was employed for those
«;hools offering one. two. and three years of high school work, respectively. These latter schoota are not
found m every county, however. There are over 10.000 common school districts in the state offering no
/
SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM OF STATE AID 163
has been pointed out above (page 67) school costs tend to rise as the number
of pupils in average daily attendance decreases. The figures in columns
two and three show this clearly with reference to the rural schools. The
high school work. These have been designated rural schools. A sample of these has been chosen by taking,
in each town, the first district, numerically, which contains one of these schools.
TOTAL NUMBER OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF EACH CLASS IN STATE. 1919-1920.
AND NUMBER INCLUDED IN REPORT — STATE OF NEW YORK
Cities
First-Class
Second-Cli
Third-Class
Total Cities ,
Villages under Superintendents . . ,
Union Schools
Four- Year Academies (High Schools)
Three- Year Academies
Two- Year Academies
One- Year Academies
Total Union Schools
One-Teaoher and Other Rural Schools .
Number of Districts
IN State
NcMBER OF Districts
Studied
S
7
49
m
46
424
112
34
49
619
10.500
8
7
94
IM
926
The figures for revenues and expenditures, debt and valuation of school property, and children of school
age, average daily attendance, and number of teaching positions were taken from the annual reports of the
local boards of education and district superintendents to the State Department of Education. To obtain
net revenues and expenditures, it was necessary to reclassify the items listed in these reports to some extent.
Revenues were obtained by subtracting from total receipts the amount of the cash balance, proceeds from
sale of bonds and sale of property, and the item "all other sources." This last item was included under
non-revenue receipts when no further information was given since where "other sources" were definitely
named they consisted almost entirely of the proceeds of temporary loans. Some small amounts of revenue
may have been excluded from the revenue total in this way. Expenditures were obtamed by subtracting
from total payments all refunds, payments to sinking funds, and payments on bonds and temporary loans.
The classification used follows, so far as feasible, that employed in the United States Census Bureau reports
on financial statistics of cities and states. The population figures for cities, villages, and counties were
obtained from the 1920 United States Census. Where the city or village boundaries are not coterminous
with those of the school district the population was obtained by correspondence with the superintendents
of such districts.
The popuUtion of union school districts was obtained from questionnaires sent to the school principals
in each district. The reliability of these figm^s is somewhat questionable. No population figures were
available for rural school districts. The figures for children of school age, which were taken in every case
from the education reports mentioned above, are more complete and probably more accurate, although the
total was larger than the total of the United States Census Bureau for 1920. (The total of the education
reports for 1920 is 2,364,162 as compared with 2,336,427 in the census.) Most of the figures have been
computed on the basis of children of school age (five to seventeen years inclusive) in the district as the best
available measure of the task confronting each district.
The estimated true or full value of real estate in villages and rural school districts was computed in the
following manner. The assessed value of real estate was found by applying the percentage of real estate value
to total value of all taxable property (obtained from the figures in the reports of the State Tax Commission)
to the figure for the assessed valuation of property given in the education reports.
School districts are not listed separately in the tax reports and it has been found necessary to use this
ratio for the town in which the district occurs. It is the opinion of the members of the State Tax De-
partment who gather these figiu^ that the proportions of real estate and personalty asse-ssed are about equal
in rural and village communities, and in the diflferent towns, and as all property in each town is assessed by
the same assessor there should be no appreciable error in applying this ratio.
The figure for the assessed value of real estate was increased to the estimated true value of real esUte
by applying the ratio of equalization given by the State Tax Commission for each village and town. The
estimated true valuation of real estate for counties and cities is that published in the report of the SUte
Tax Commission. These valuations for the cities were found to check within one per cent with the figures
estimated from the education reports in the manner described above except in a few instances. Most of
■3
I
164 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
districts with small attendance and high real estate values also have high
net expenditures and higher school taxes per child.
TABLE 46
COMPARISON OF REAL ESTATE VALUATIONS PER CHILD OF SCHOOL
AGE WITH EXPENDITURES AND SOURCES OF REVENUE PER
CHILD OF SCHOOL AGE » — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1920
1
s
t
4
1
•
FtTLL
Value of
Real Es-
tate PER
Child
Net Ex-
penditure
PER Child
School
Tax per
Child
True
School
Tax Rate
PER SlOO
State Aid
PER Child
Percent-
AOE OP
Revenue
FROM Statb
Aid
First-Class Cities . . .
Second-Class Cities . .
Third-CIass Cities . . .
S5479
5044
4177
$55.75
42.07
42.05
$40.14
39.52
35.59
$ .72
.78
.80
$ 3.89
5.22
5.94
8.8%
12.5
14.0
Villages over 4,500 . .
3717
41.68
34.59
.83
6.44
15.6
4- Year Union Schools . .
3- Year Union Schools . .
2- Year Union Schools . .
1-Year Union Schools . .
4090
5105
4214
5821
59.60
63.75
58.00
58.77
42.68
46.52
47.06
48.78
1.05
.91
.98
.82
11.93
14.00
14.33
9.99
23.4
23.3
22.1
19.0
Rural Schools
Average Daily Attend-
ance 16 and over
Average Daily Attend-
4444
34.85
26.43
.53
7.73
22.6
ance 11-15 ....
Average Daily Attend-
4938
41.20
29.08
.57
12.50
30.6
ance 6-10 ....
Average Daily Attend-
5716
54.03
35.57
.59
17.94
33.8
ance 0-5 ....
7750
82.50
54.00
.65
27.94
37.5
Contract Districts* . .
6750
47.50
23.75
.43
18.33
39.2
> All of the figures in this table are medians (middle cases).
« A contract district is one contracting with another district for the education of all its children instead
of mamtammg a home school.
The figures in column four show that in the rural districts, in spite of
the much higher costs per child, the true school tax rate is not much greater
in districts with small attendance than in districts with larger attendance,
since the higher value of real estate tends to keep down the rate. The
true tax rates in school districts other than the rural districts average
these were cities where the city and school district boundaries are not coterminous. The estimates based
on the education report data were used for these. One city. Utica. was found to have assessed and taxed
for school purposes ,n this year (under a mistaken interpretation of the law) a large amount of personalty
which was not taxed for other purposes and consequently did not appear on the city assessment roll. Other
cit.es h«l used the 1918 or 1920 assessment roll for school taxes instead of that for 1919. Personalty wa.
!o^ rir^^ ^''"^ . *'^«««J*''«»*'°'»« «« '^^^o^^t of the difficulty of estimating the true value of such property
accurately, and also for the reason that the amount of taxable personalty was small enough to be neglhrible
and will probably be exempted in a short time. •■ » "«
«no?^ ^^ ^' r""* *"/ the ass^ value of all property in 1920 was personalty, and the exemption of all
mett '^^rt. m2 p"^ recommended by the Joint Committee ou Taxation and Retrench-
J
SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM OF STATE AID 165
higher. The highest average true school tax rate is found in the union
school districts maintaining four-year high schools.
With these facts in mind the data with regard to state aid may be con-
sidered. Taking first the villages, which it will be recalled have the lowest
real estate values per child of school age, it is found that state aid supplied
in 1920 only $6.44 per child, whereas in the rural schools of less than five
in average daily attendance, which have the largest real estate values,
state aid suppHed $27.94 per child.^
TABLE 47
COMPARISON OF REAL ESTATE VALUATIONS PER CHILD OF SCHOOL
AGE WITH EXPENDITURES AND REVENUE PER CHILD OF SCHOOL
AGE — RANKS ON BASIS OF MIDDLE CASE IN EACH GROUP ^
STATE OF NEW YORK, 1920
Firet-Class Cities . .
Second-Class Cities .
Third-Class Cities
Villages over 4,500
4- Year Union Schools
3- Year Union Schools
2- Year Union Schools
1-Year Union Schools
Rural Schools » Average
Daily Attendance 16 and
over
Rural Schools * Average
Daily Attendance 11-15 .
Rural Schools » Average
Daily Attendance 6-10 .
Rural Schools * Average
Daily Attendance 5 or less
Contract « Districts ' . . .
FtTU.
Value of
Real Es-
tate PER
Child
5
7
11
13
12
6
10
3
9
8
4
1
2
Net Ex-
pendi-
tures PER
Child
School
Tax PER
Child
6
9
10
11
3
2
5
4
13
12
7
1
8
6
7
8
10
5
4
3
2
12
11
9
1
13
True
School
Tax Rate
State Aid
PER Child
8
7
6
4
1
3
2
5
12
11
10
9
13
13
12
11
10
7
5
4
8
9
6
3
1
2
Percent-
age OP
Revenuh
FROM
State Aid
13
12
11
10
5
6
8
9
7
4
3
2
1
» 364 cases. « 219 cases. » 226 cases. * 59 cases. » 36 cases.
• A contract district is one contracting with another district for the education of all its chUdren instead
of mainteining a home school. » See footnote 3 on p. 162.
Table 47 is built up by ranking the thirteen classes into which the school
districts are divided in Table 46 on the basis of the factors enumerated in
the headings of that table.
» It is true of course, as shown in column two, that the costs are higher in the rural schools with small
attendance. To provide "equal opportunity" for children in sparsely settled country sections must be
expected to cost more per child than in the more populous districts of the state. But column four indicates
that the present distribution of state aid more than makes up for the higher costs of the rural schools in the
sparsely setUed areas as compared with the viUages and union school districts.
166 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Perhaps the most interesting comparison is between column one
showing the value of real estate per child and column five showing state
aid per child. It is realized that real estate is an imperfect measure of
economic resources, but if it were a perfect measure, and if the system of
state aid were operating perfectly to reheve economic inequalities, then
the ranking in the real estate colunm should be exactly the reverse of the
ranking of the state aid column. The actual situation is seen to be quite
different. The schools showing the highest real estate values per child
(rural schools with average attendance of less than five) abo rank first in
the distribution of state aid. The schools which show the lowest real estate
values (villages), instead of being at the top in so far as state aid is con-
cerned, rank fourth from the bottom.
In the ranking according to true school tax rate (column four) it ap-
pears that the rural schools occupy the five lowest places. The ranking
of these rural school districts with respect to state aid received (column
five) is again almost exactly opposite from what one might expect. In this
scale instead of occupying the lowest places, they rank 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9.
State Aid under a County System
By increasing the size of the unit of school administration and support,
rich territory tends to be merged with poor territory and extreme differ-
ences in the economic resources of the units tend to be reduced. This
process obviously simplifies the problem of apportioning funds for the
equalization of educational opportunity and of tax burden. In view of
the various proposals which have been advanced in favor of larger school
districts as a solution of the problem of economic support it is of interest
to examine the proportions of the task which would remain to be per-
formed by the state subvention system, if the unit were made as large as
the county.
In the analysis by school districts in the preceding section, real estate
was the only available index of economic resources. When counties are
made the basis of study, it is possible to utilize the facts regarding taxable
income as an additional measure of resources. At the urgent request of
the Joint Legislative Committee on Taxation and Retrenchment and of
the Educational Finance Inquiry, the statistical division of the State Tax
Commission undertook to make a complete distribution of 1921 taxable
incomes among the several counties of the state. Consequently, for the
first time, reliable information regarding income is available as an aid in
forming a judgment regarding the economic resources of the various counties
of the state. Hitherto, taxable real estate has been the only measure
available.
Table 48 is a master table which presents the underlying data upon which
the discussion in this section rests.
>
SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM OF STATE AID 167
table 48
DISTRIBUTION OF SIGNIFICANT DATA WITH REFERENCE TO ECONOMIC RESOURCES
AND SCHOOL EXPENDITURES FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK AND FOR THE
COUNTIES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921
Taxable In-
Fuui Value
OF Taxable
Total Edu-
cation Ex-
State Ap-
POBTION-
Pupils
IN
Chil-
dren OF
Number
OF
COMB
Real Estate
penditure 1
ment'
A. D. A.
School
Age
Teachers *
City of
$
$
$
$
New York .
2,194.157,412
10,871.493.613'
58,678,228.80
5,050,160.75
776,246
1,313,893
24,139.50
Albany . .
44,220,016
219,263.844
331,287.85
187,447.99
18,640
35,721
789.75
Allegany . .
3,031,178
46,882.827
440,405.85
115,584.17
6,212
7,756
403.00
Broome . .
25,909,523
126,225.317
1,229,737.30
171.829.11
16,353
25,062
817.75
Cattaraugiis .
9,111,012
79.888.095
893,712.47
162,549.39
12,132
17,118
632.00
Cayuga . .
8.913,162
66,923,071
630,945.31
123.720.86
8,409
14,204
495.25
Chautauqua .
15.377,162
128,410.643
1,268,489.97
231,303.18
18,435
28,336
894.75
Chemung . .
12.166,081
68.007,010
626,826.82
99,990.89
8,438
13,807
410.50
Chenango . .
3,714,507
32,366.111
434,819.01
104,997.55
5,574
7,132
345.00
Clinton . .
3,468.438
30,158,704
412,289.44
92,438.47
5,929
10,505
335.25
Columbia . .
5.000.396
44,140,960
323,486.65
75,626.33
5,419
7,666
273.25
Cortland . .
4.710.869
28,696.229
257,157.33
72,300.96
4,302
5,684
241.50
Delaware . .
3,018.371
46,837,457
467,601.34
141,463.93
6,794
9,180
459.25
Dutchess . .
19.398,796
113.410,084
691,109.98
124,733.51
11,849
15,965
516.00
Erie ....
154.410.205
939.056,753
7,561,565.84
746,086.78
71,198
155,781
3,223.00
Essex . . .
3,049.216
37.745,136
447,894.35
77,589.64
5,321
7,714
317.25
Franklin . .
4,795,666
41,860.862
415.589.23
103,250.67
6,661
10,228
356.25
Fulton . . .
6.567.897
40.298.548
404,090.04
72,724.32
6,916
8,661
303.25
Genesee . ,
4,346,008
55.188,878
349,636.95
72,116.84
5,961
8,593
315.25
Greene . . .
2,016,637
24,371,671
235,038.12
59,670.78
3,699
5,165
180.00
Hamilton . .
240.816
11,174,310
73,698.33
15,013.74
591
797
56.00
Herkimer . .
9.220,722
75,973,533
656,365.61
117,667.86
9,988
12,896
305.50
Jefferson . .
12.089.701
96,636,875
804,522.27
182,808.07
13,009
18,331
857.75
Lewis . . .
1.766,502
26,587,252
241,765.97
74,460.46
3,689
5,013
257.50
Livingston
3,972,892
47,474,908
375,582.80
80,224.92
4,803
6,923
301.25
Madison . .
5,382,615
39,560,217
421,467.35
100,905.17
6,756
7,922
354.25
Monroe . .
101,752.991
540,507,891
4,027,780.98
258,175.43
43,288
72,226
1,973.50
Montgomery .
10.092,136
59,532,216
452,912.54
82,344.83
8,124
12,144
362.00
Nassau . . .
51,159.329
295.374,423
1,916,755.46
191,596.09
20,548
28,176
817.00
Niagara . .
21,477,435
198,847,003
1,210,417.58
157,963.02
16,774
30,241
713.50
Oneida . . .
33.311.509
196,869,536
2,137,224.97
344,083.92
25,403
37,314
1,152.00
Onondaga .
58,465,867
314.344,821
2,180,734.77
294.436.90
36,063
42.084
1,291.50
Ontario . .
7,476,292
73,013,963
478,187.01
109,577.05
7,324
11.880
398.75
Orange . .
24,571,354
145,054,161
1,165,793.73
160,332.06
16,938
21.926
698.00
Orleans . .
3,337,044
40,636,404
277,751.84
61,567.21
4,362
6.045
233.50
Oswego . .
7,836,655
74,282,804
617,538.28
148,676.84
9,870
15.413
517.50
Otsego . . .
7,029,386
48,213,873
456,162.45
129,053.15
6,591
8,399
397.25
Putnam . .
2,865,499
24,679,183
126,660.10
25,484.05
1,590
2,055
91.50
Rensselaer
20,384,332
108,274,474
831,008.33
150,488.78
12.009
21,985
579.50
Rockland . .
12.063,544
56,704,418
429,229.74
70,030.50
6,822
10,350
151.00
St. Lawrence .
6,917,934
82,820,290
835,808.61
210,030.29
12,428
17,703
747.75
Saratoga . .
8,321,130
61,884,043
629,356.33
118,392.86
8,655
12,139
448.50
Schenectady .
O 1- 1 •
23,359,238
141,680,587
1,471,234.77
157,433.84
17,980
26,516
719.00
ochoharie . .
1,543,861
16,981,623
194,100.11
60,506.89
2,929
3,858
197.25
Schuyler . .
938.011
13,714,429
133,545.24
36,966.64
1,922
2,361
129.00
Seneca . . .
1.957.698
27.133.324
188,978.70
42,900.00
2,920
4,403
159.75
Steuben . .
O jw 11
10,037,714
72.267.394
731,639.07
179,264.14
11,826
15,629
675.50
Suffolk . . .
CI II ■
24.059,808
204,577,615
1,148.908.30
164,806.24
17,199
22,738
724.50
Sullivan . .
2,597,783
40,212,019
327,176.46
87,903.66
5,730
8,357
287.75
Tioga . . .
2,110,975
20,812,909
263,063.10
68,663.21
3,943
4,792
226.75
Tompkms . .
TTI A
7,260,478
43,511,420
487,515.67
79,072.73
5,292
7,570
290.00
Ulster . . ,
9,604,816
74,377,963
514,044.22
122,059.22
10,227
15,171
444.25
Warren . .
TIT 1 ■
5,685,921
36,703,408
278,618.59
56,971.80
3,875
5,490
213.75
Washmgton .
4,424,205
35,482,162
409,045.76
110,472.74
6,790
9,259
386.75
Wayne . . .
4,766,454
61,788,819
474,435.62
105,634.24
8,388
10,332
395.00
Westchester .
Wyoming . .
'\r A.
177,008,903
748,559,450
6,140,935.83
503,450.16
57,065
80,010
2,284.75
2,277,499
33,585.677
331,455.79
77,211.21
5,009
6,669
296.25
Yates . . .
1,154.348
20,185,277
150,167.31
48,900.65
2,439
3,139
149.00
* 1920. > Fractions caused by some teachers teaching part of a school year. 'This figure was later
corrected to $10,961,681,401, but the original figure was used as a basis for collecting the tax.
168 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE 49
^^^^^^xV^^ VALUE TAXABLE REAL ESTATE, AND "INDEX OF ECONOMIC
RESOURCES" PER PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE PER
CHILD OF SCHOOL AGE AND PER TEACHE^ FOR THE CITY
OF NEW YORK AND FOR THE COUNTIES OF THE STATE
OF NEW YORK, 1921
City of N. Y.
Albany
Allegany .
Broome
Cattaraugus
Cayuga
Chautauqua
Chemung
Chenango
Clinton
Columbia
Cortland
Delaware
Dutchess
Erie
Essex .
Franklin
Fulton .
Genesee
Greene .
Hamilton
Herkimer
Jefferson
Lewis .
Livingston
Madison
Monroe
Montgomery
Nassau
Niagara
Oneida .
Onondaga
Ontario
Orange
Orleans
Oswego
Otsego .
Putnam
Rensselaer
Rockland
St. Lawrence
Saratoga
Schenectady
Schoharie
Schuyler
Seneca .
Steuben
Suffolk .
Sullivan
Tioga .
Tompkins
Ulster .
Warren
Washingto
Wayne .
Westchester
Wyoming
Yates .
Income
Age
in A.D.A.
S2,827
2,372
488
1,684
751
1,060
834
1.442
666
585
923
1,095
444
1,636
2,169
573
720
950
729
545
407
923
929
479
827
797
2,351
1.242
2,490
1,280
1,311
1.621
1.021
1.451
765
794
1,067
1.802
1.697
1.768
557
961
1.299
527
483
670
848
1.399
453
535
1.372
939
1,467
652
568
3,102
455
473
$1,670
1.238
391
1,034
532
628
543
881
521
330
652
829
329
1,215
991
395
469
758
506
390
302
715
660
352
574
679
1.409
831
1,816
710
893
1.389
628
1.120
552
508
837
1.394
927
1,166
391
685
881
400
397
445
642
1.058
311
441
959
633
1.036
478
461
2,212
342
368
Per
Teacher
Full Value Taxable
Real Estate
190,895
55,992
7,522
31,684
14,416
17,997
17,186
29,637
10,767
10,346
18.300
19,507
6,572
37,595
47.909
9,611
13,462
21,658
13,786
11,204
4,300
30,182
14,095
6,860
13,188
15,194
51,560
27.879
62.618
30,102
28,916
45,270
18,749
35,203
14,291
15,143
17,695
31,317
35,176
79,891
9.252
18.553
32,489
7.827
7,271
12.255
14.860
33,209
9,028
9.310
25.036
21.620
26.601
11.439
12,067
77.474
7,688
7,747
Per Pupil
in
A. D. A.
$14,005
11.763
7,547
7,719
6,585
7,959
6,966
8,060
5,807
5.087
8.146
6.670
6.894
9.571
13,189
7,094
6,284
5,827
9,258
6.589
18,907
7,606
7,428
7,207
9,884
5,856
12,486
7,328
14,375
11,854
7,750
[8,717
9,969
8,564
9,316
7,526
7,315
15,521
9,016
8,312
6,664
7,150
7.880
5.798
7,135
9,292
6,111
11.895
7.018
5.278
8.222
7.273
9.472
5.226
7.366
13,118
6,705
8,276
Per Child
School
Age
$8,274
6,138
6,045
5,037
4,667
4,712
4.532
4.926
4,538
2,871
5,758
5,049
5,102
7,104
6,028
4,893
4,093
4,653
6,423
4.719
14.020
5,891
5,272
5.304
6.858
4.994
7,484
4.902
10.483
6.575
5.276
7,469
6.146
6.616
6.722
4.819
5.740
12.009
4.925
5.479
4.678
5.098
5.343
4.402
5.809
6,162
4.624
8,997
4,812
4,343
5.748
4.903
6.686
3.832
5,980
9.356
5.036
6.430
Per
Teacher
$450,361
277,637
116,335
154,357
126,405
135,130
143,516
165,669
93,815
89,959
161,541
118,825
101,987
219,787
291,361
118,976
117,504
132.889
175.064
135,398
199.541
248,686
112,663
103,251
157,593
111,673
273,883
164,454
361,535
278,692
170,894
243,395
183,107
207,814
174,032
143,542
121,369
269,718
186.841
375,526
110,759
137,980
197,052
86.092
106,313
169,849
106,984
282.371
139.746
91.788
150,039
167,424
171,712
91,744
156,427
327,633
113.369
135.472
Index or
Economic Resources >
Per Pupil
in
A. D. A.
$2,114
Per Child
School
Age
$1,249
1,774
926
621
498
1,178
769
705
499
928
649
765
498
1.124
687
624
487
647
309
869
614
881
667
567
420
1,297
963
1.744
797
641
442
674
439
766
612
827
674
602
431
1,149
862
842
662
836
693
600
441
908
630
691
689
1,800
1.079
988
661
1,964
1.432
1.233
684
1.043
710
1,246
1,068
1,009
622
1.154
891
848
612
773
496
899
706
1.677
1.298
1.300
710
1.300
857
612
429
838
698
1.044
708
653
420
601
489
800
630
730
662
1.294
979
578
396
632
437
1,097
767
833
662
1,207
862
687
431
652
630
2,207
1.574
563
423
650 1
505
Per
Teacher
$67,966
41.878
9.577
23.560
13,528
15,755
15,769
23,102
10,074
9,671
17,227
16,695
8,386
29,787
38.522
10.754
12,606
17,474
15,646
12.372
12.127
27.526
12.680
8,593
14,474
13,181
39.474
22,162
49,386
28,985
23,003
34.805
18.530
27,992
16,847
14,749
14,916
29,144
26,930
68,722
10,164
16.176
26,097
8,218
8,951
14,620
12,779
30,723
11,501
9,244
20,020
19,181
21.886
10,307
13,855
65,119
9,612
10,647
■>
SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM OF STATE AID 169
Table 49 presents results obtained when income, real estate values, and
^ the combination of these values, which will hereafter be described as the
index of economic resources, are related to certain measures of the size of
the educational task.
That reported taxable income is distributed among the counties in a
very different manner from real estate is apparent from the inspection of
the figures. The extreme variation in real estate values in the school dis-
tricts has already been noted. Taking the county as a unit, the value
of the real estate per pupil in average daily attendance varies from $5,087
in CUnton County to $18,907 in Hamilton County. The variation in
income proves to be even greater than that in the real estate figures. The
lowest income per pupil in average daily attendance is $407 in Hamilton
County. The highest is $3,102 in Westchester County. That these
variations in income are not commonly accompanied by a Uke variation in
real estate values will appear in the table presented below.
TABLE 50
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOTAL TAXABLE INCOME AND FULL
VALUE OF REAL ESTATE BY COUNTIES — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921
. ' J
Name of Countt
City of New York
Albany ....
Allegany . . .
Broome ....
Cattaraugus . .
Cayuga ....
Chautauqua . .
Chemung . . .
Chenango . . .
Clinton . . .
Columbia . . .
Cortland . . .
Delaware . . .
Dutchess . . .
Erie
Essex ....
Franklin . . .
Fulton ....
Genesee . . .
Greene ....
Hamilton . . .
Herkimer . . .
Jefferson . , .
Lewis ....
Livingston . .
Madison . . .
Monroe . . .
Percentage Which
Income Is of Full
Value of Real
Estate
' Index of economic resources
(Taxable income) -}- (^ Full value of real esUte)
2 '
(Table 60 continued on following page.)
See p. 171.
il
170 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TABLE 50 (ConHnued)
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOTAL TAXABLE INCOME AND FULL
VALUE OF REAL ESTATE BY COUNTIES — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1921
Name or Cotmrr
Montgomery
Nassau . .
Niagara
Oneida . .
Onondaga .
Ontario . .
Orange . .
Orleans . .
Oswego . .
Otsego . .
Putnam
Rensselaer .
Rockland .
St. Lawrence
Saratoga
Schenectady
Schoharie .
Schuyler
Seneca . .
Steuben . .
Suffolk . .
Sullivan
Tioga . .
Tompkins .
Ulster . .
Warren . .
Washington
Wayne . .
Westchester
Wyoming .
Yates . .
Percentaos Which
Incoio: Is or Fuix
Valus or Real
£aTATB
Rank
17.0
12
17.3
10
10.8
38
16.9
13J
18.6
8
10.2
40
16.9
m
8.2
46
10.5
39
14.6
21
11.6
32
18.8
^
21.3
2
8.4
431
13.4
24
16.5
16
9.1
42
6.8
511
7.2
50
13.9
22
11.8
31
6.5
54i
10.1
41
16.7
15
12.9
26
15.5
20
12.5
27i
7.7
49
23.6
1
6.8
5U
5.7
57
The figures reported in this table are the percentage which the total
taxable income in each county is of the full value of real estate in that
county. The range in these percentages is from 2.2 per cent in Hamilton
County to 23.6 per cent in Westchester County. The ratios for other
counties range rather uniformly between these extremes.
The income figures, as presented in these tables, have a shortcoming
to which particular attention should be called. Income tax returns are
filed at the place of residence of the recipient. Thus an individual whose
residence is established in the City of New York files his income return
there irrespective of where the income arises. This individual may have
interests in various sections of the state. He may, in addition to his town
house in the city, own a factory in Buffalo, an estate in Westchester, and a
camp in the Adirondacks. Yet his economic strength, so far as income is
J
SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM OF STATE AID 171
concerned, would be credited entirely to the city in which his return is
filed. It is important to bear in mind the fact that the distribution of the
taxable incomes among the counties yields an exhibit of the economic
resources of the people of the county rather than of the counties themselves.
Whether real estate values alone or taxable incomes alone are adopted
as the measure of economic resources, those resources appear to vary
greatly in relation to the educational task. Even though the boundaries
of the local unit were expanded from their present narrow limits and made
co-extensive with those of the counties, this would not result in the
ehmination or even in the reduction in the task to be performed by the
state subvention system if equahzation were to be achieved.
It should be borne in mind that real estate and income are used in this
chapter as measures of the economic resources of the counties, rather than
as directly available tax bases. When mention is made of the taxable
income in a county, for example, it is not to be inferred that a local tax on
income is suggested. The question of methods of taxation for tapping
these economic resources is discussed in another place. ^
Since both real estate values and income are presented as measures of
the same thing — economic resources — and since there are cases of wide
divergence in the measures, some counties which have large real estate
values and small incomes and vice^ersa^ the question arises as to whether
some combination of the two measures would not result in a more useful
index of resources than either of the two measures alone. The data pre-
sented in Table 49 imder the heading " Index of Economic Resources "
represent the result of such a combination when related to certain measures
of the educational task.
This index is presented in the belief that it is distinctly more trust-
worthy than the indices resting upon real estate or property values
alone which are often used in studies of this type. Nevertheless, it
is presented with a degree of diffidence because it is realized that the
statistical problem involved in establishing the precise weight to be as-
signed to income as compared with real estate cannot be solved with ex-
actness with the resources at the disposal of the Commission.^ After con-
1 See p. 156 et iteq.
* There are several factors of importance which afiPect this problem of determining the precise wei^t to
be assigned to income as compared with real estate, concerning which statistical evidence is meager. The
income figures include net incomes from real estate so far as they are taxable. The real estate figures al-
though they comprise an important element in total wealth (17 out of 25 billion dollars according to the
1912 census), represent after all only one element. The income figures do not represent total income but only
taxable income (3,216 millions as compared with an estimated total income of 7,530 millions of dollars).
Again they include not merely income from property, but income from personal services as well. More-
over, real estate values as a measure of taxable resources can be interpreted only by taking into account the
present and expected real estate tax burden, because, imder the theory of capitalization, the real estate
values quoted are based upon net incomes after taxes have been paid. Such are the factors entering into
the problem.
A truly satisfactory index must certainly take wealth as well as income into account. New data re-
specting wealth and income in the state will soon be available from the census and from ether sources which
R
172 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
siderable study and consultation with the economic advisers to the Com-
mission the following definition was arrived at :
Index of eco- ^ (Taxable income) + (A Full value of real estate)
nomic resources ~ 2~ "*
This definition assigns to a dollar of income ten times the importance given
to a dollar of real estate value. Thus a county with twenty miUions of
real estate value and one million of taxable income is given the same index
of economic resources as a second county which has only ten millions of
real estate, but two millions of taxable income.
It has been shown that if real estate is accepted as a measure of eco-
nomic resources, the system of state aid as at present organized does not
succeed in removing the financial inequalities among the school districts
of the state. Nor does the present system of state aid, when computed
on the county basis, show the proper correlation with the index of economic
resources developed in this section.^
■hoiild be of assiatance in establishing the proper weighting of a formula. If it should prove desirable to
reconstruct the subvention system of the state in a manner which involves the use of an index of eoonomio
resources, it is urged that an exhaustive study be made with the object of ostablishins as precisely as pos-
sible the proper weighting of the various elements entering into it.
The Commission, realising that with the resources at its disposal, it could not hope to solve this weight-
ing problem exactly, decided to test the data to ascertain the importance of prooision in the weighting.
Experiment showed that, so far as affecting the relative ranking of the counties in a scale was conoemedj
a wide variation in the weight assigned to income as compared with real estate produced remarkably sUght
variations.
Four methods of combming these vahies were tested. The amount of taxable income per county was
added to J, A. A. and A of the full value of real estate in that county, and the sums divided by two to
produce four difTerent measures or indices of the economic resources of the several counties. The counties
were then ranked on the basis of the four indices and the other three distributions were compared with the
index obtained by using the combination of income and ^ of the value of real estate. The dose coiw
respondence in the ranking of the counties, whatever the method of combinaUon. is shown in the table
following :
DEVIATIONS BETWEEN RANKS WHEN COMBINING INCOME WITH FOLLOWING
PERCENTAGE OF VALUE OF REAL ESTATE
A AND i
A AND A
^ AND ^
Deviation
No. Cases
Deviation
No. Cases
Deviation
No. Cases
0
24
23
4
4
2
1
0
40
' 14
4
•
0
0
1
S
t
4
5
33
15
•
1
0
0
Median I
Middle
Fifty per
cent 0-1
0
0-1
0
0-1
The index making use of A of the value of real estate is most closely related to that using A", but in no
case is the deviation of the rank of the middle case more than one case.
» Evidence of this failure of state apportionment in equalizing differences in the total economic re-
sources among counties is presented on the next page in the table of coefficients of correlation using counties
aa units.
>
J
SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM OF STATE AID 173
"Equalization of Educational Opportunity"
There exists today and has existed for many years a movement which
has come to be known as the " equahzation of educational opportunity "
or the " equalization of school support." These phrases are interpreted
in various ways. In its most extreme form the interpretation is somewhat
as follows : The state should insure equal educational facilities to every
child within its borders at a uniform effort throughout the state in terms
of the burden of taxation ; the tax burden of education should throughout
the state be uniform in relation to tax-pa3dng ability/ and the provision for
schools should be uniform in relation to the educable population desiring
education. Most of the supporters of this proposition, however, would not
preclude any particular community from offering at its own expense a
particularly rich and costly educational program. They would insist that
there be an adequate minimum offered everywhere, the expense of which
should be considered a prior claim on the state's economic resources.*
A. EiOonomio Resources and
School Expenditures ....
B. School Expenditures and
State Apportionment . . .
C. Economic Resources and
State Apportionment . . .
D. Economic Resources and
School Expenditures, State
Apportionment Being Made
Constant
On Basis of Gross Amounts*
Direct
Correla-
tion (ex-
cept D)
+ .837
+ .874
+ .773
+ .524
Partial Correlations, Each
of Following Made Constant
Total
Children
5-17
+ .100
+ .192
- .343
+ .170
Total
Pupils
in A.D.A.
-.055
+ .279
+ .092
- .084
Total
Teachers
+ .381
+ .092
-.342
+ .416
Correuations among Vari-
ous Per-Capita Figures
Per
Child
5-17
+ .340
+ .359
-.470
+ .618
Per
Pupil in
A. D. A.
+ .363
+ .052
-.631
+ .511
Per
Teacher
+ .788
-.056
-.225
+ .797
• New York City and Erie, Monroe, and Westchester Counties do not figure in the first four columns.
These are the groups especially aflFected by the three first-clasa cities. New York, Buffalo, and Rochester.
The gross amounts for these four groups were so much greater than in the 54 other counties that correlation
coefficients based on figures for all the 58 groups were practically meaningless.
A comparison of items "A" and "D" shows in column (1) that there is a higher correlation between
•conomic resources and the total expenditures for schools, than there is between economic resources and
school expenditures when the state apportionment to counties has been equalized. In other words, the
sdditron of the state apportionment to the amount raised locally for the support of schools tends to make
more perfect the correspondence between high economic resources and large school expenditures. Item " C "
of the Uble shows m five of the seven columns that there is a negative relationship between economic re-
sources and the stote apportionment, but these coefficients are very much less than the -1.00 which would
result were the state aid system based entirely upon the economic resources of communities.
> It should be observed that equalisation of the rate of taxation for educational purposes in the different
sections of the state would not result in a uniform total tax rate throughout the state. There are other
essential governmental needs besides public education which must be provided for in varying amounts, and
«t varying costs by the different localities.
» A good statement of this policy, as popularly interpreted, was given in a recent editorial which advo-
cated •' such legislation as would assure the country child educational advantages in every comer of the
•Uto comparable with those of the city child, and at the same time equalise the educational burden so
far as that could be done." Times, New York, January 24, 1923.
:■ I
tl
174 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
This proposal assumes, of course, that the interest of the state in provid-
ing an equal educational opportunity for each child outweighs the pos-
sible economic objection that the operation of such a plan involves a
subsidy to economically backward communities, with its attendant pos-
sibiUties of misdirected economic effort. It is proposed in this section
to examine some of the fiscal impUcations of this principle.
To carry into effect the principle of '' equalization of educational op-
portunity" and "equalization of school support" as commonly under-
stood it would be necessary (1) to estabUsh schools or make other arrange-
ments sufficient to furnish the children in every locaUty within the state
with equal educational opportunities up to some prescribed minimum;
(2) to raise the funds necessary for this purpose by local or state taxation
adjusted in such manner as to bear upon the people in all localities at the
same rate in relation to their tax-paying abiUty, and (3) to provide ade-
quately either for the supervision and control of all the schools, or for
their direct administration, by a state department of education.
The simplest method of financing the school system to achieve the aims
of the principle would be through uniform state-wide taxes based on abil-
ity-to-pay. Such a proposal, however, encounters serious obstacles such
as the difficulties of centrahzing the administration of school funds, in
large states particularly, without deadening local interest and initiative,
and the difficulties of developing a suitable revenue system with the nec-
essary central control of assessments and rates. The strength of position
in favor of local control of schools and of school financ^ makes it desirable
to inquire what measure of responsibility for financial support may be left
to the locahties, if the aims of the principle are to be gained. The essentials
are that there should be uniformity in the rates of school taxation levied to
provide the satisfactory minimum offering and that there be such a degree
of state control over the expenditure of the proceeds of school taxes as may
be necessary to insure that the satisfactory minimum offering shall be made
at a reasonable cost. Since costs vary from place to place in the state, and
bear diverse relationships to the tax-paying abilities of the various districts,
the achievement of uniformity would involve the following :
(1) A local school tax in support of the satisfactory minimum offering
would be levied in each district at a rate which would provide the neces-
sary funds for that purpose in the richest district.
(2) This richest district then might raise all of its school money by
means of the local tax, assuming that a satisfactory tax, capable of being
locally administered, could be devised.^
(3) Every other district could be permitted to levy a local tax at the
same rate and apply the proceeds toward the costs of schools, but —
(4) Since the rate is uniform, this tax would be sufficient to meet the costs
1 The question of progressive rates enters here to complicate the problem.
>
J
SCHOOL SUPPORT AND THE PROBLEM OF STATE AID 175
only in the richest districts and the deficiencies would be made up by state
subventions.^
As an example of the apphcation of this principle to the State of New
York, the following calculation, based on the data submitted in this chapter,
is presented. In this calculation it is assumed that the local unit is the
county, that costs are uniform throughout the state, and that the cost
per pupil is that obtained by dividing the total school expenditure of the
year by the total number of pupils in average daily attendance. The
assumed amount of the expense per pupil has no effect on the percentages.
The richest county in the state, according to the index of economic re-
sources back of each pupil in average daily attendance, is Westchester
County. Under the plan outlined on page 166 there might be levied in this
county a local tax sufficient to meet its entire school cost, assuming those
costs to be based upon the uniform per-pupil cost as computed above. A tax
imposed at the same rate in aU of the other counties would raise in the state
as a whole a sum sufficient to pay 77.5 per cent of the total school expend-
iture. The balance, or 22.5 per cent, of the total amount necessary to
finance the schools would remain to be raised by means of a state-wide
uniform tax. In other words, even though the size of the school district
were expanded from its present smaU Umits to the county basis, it would
still be necessary to increase somewhat the amount raised by the state and
distributed among the locahties as state aid. In 1922 the state aid amounted
to $4 1, 1 14,3 17, or 2 1 per cent of the total cash disbursements of $ 196,034,409.
According to this calculation it would be necessary for the state to' increase
its state aid to 22.5 per cent of the total.^
uJlJ^/T^"'*'""/*"? ^° "*.^r'''^ "^"^""^ **y '^"^^ ''*"^^°*» ^' ^^ P«»»>'«^ (for example. Harlan
^i^^f'JrT Ti* i*r' '^'^^' ^^^"^ °^ ^^'^ ^^'^ State." 1922. p. 112 Ze,.) that a
TrSnn ^K "^"^ ""^^ "^^"'^ be used to achieve simultaneously the double object of equ^zing the
var.at.ons .n the economic resources of the various localities, and of rewarding such communiti^ a^
make a specal effort m the direction of providing local school facilities. If the sums given to lo^Tti"
wh^rx^k^r •'"'«^,'-» ^»t *»»ey-««»t in a perceptible diminution of tax burdfn of the locality
Trinclr M "°"»"*» effort, they tend to destroy the equality of tax burden called for under the
pnnc.ple. Moreover thja does not take into account the origin of the funds which are distributed as " re-
mtlTth J ."ILT. ^ probable, they come from a fmid supplied by state-wide taxes, it will normally
other ^l ^IT "^ T^*'/ '"^''"^ ""^^^*'" ^ •* "^»* ^'^ P^r. will profit at the expense of the
muU wWch .^' "*•*"' ""^ "^ ^" '' '' ^'®''"^' ^ "^ ^«- -^^''y <^ ^ achieve^^nder a for-
ZL^ J« * !^Vu"r '^*^*"^ P*^' '° arrangement for rewards paid without regard for the
Txe^rs^nni? h 1 .' 'o<*''ty -^-ing the bonus or the added burden upon other cou^ which ar^
d^uWe^Z^ of T- "" "*'"*^ '^^l*^""* " '"''^- ^"^ '''^"^"•'^ '^^'^^^ '^^^^-P^ ^ accomplish the
«^n.ilnTTf *^^''»'^« '^^«» •"d rewarding effort must contain elements which are mutually in-
tl^^a?!!!n:».lJ T ?^' !^ ^ "''•"' "^'^'^ to seek to achieve local adherence to proper educa-
t.onal standards by methods which do not tend to destroy the very uniformity of effort caUed for by the
doctnne of equality of educational opportunity.
(Ta JwettrlTT7J V^,* "*r** '•; "^T *"' ^'°''°°''' '^"'"^ ^' P"P" ^ Westchester. The formula,
jiaxapie mcomc) + (^^ Full value of real estate).
2 ' divided by (Number of pupils in A. D. A.) gives a figure
of $2,207 for this county.
The sUte-wide expenditure per pupil was $109,691,502 divided by 1.443.647 pupils, or $75 98
nunU in^!!^?^* ^^^''^ '* ^^"^^ ^ necessary to apply to economic resources to obtam this amount per
pupU m Westchester County is $75.98 divided by $2,207. or 3.443.
The total economic resources of the state (Taxable income) + (^ Full value of real estate)
' . 2 • are
li
II
176 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
The principle of equality of educational opportunity, followed to its logical
conclusion, is found to arrive at the equivalent of a state educational sys-
tem, which requires a satisfactory state-wide minimum offering sup-
ported by taxes of uniform weight in relation to tax-paying ability
throughout the state. This is clearly the destination toward which present
forces are tending. The seriousness of the problems to be solved before that
destination can be reached should be borne in mind, however. Unless local
interest and initiative can be preserved and encouraged and unless the
necessary revenue reforms can be attained, the progress of the movement
toward equahzation may be arrested; moreover, the desirability of con-
tinuing to levy and collect locally such part of the school revenues as can
conveniently and economically be so administered should not be over-
looked.
While it is scarcely probable that the state in the near future will go the
full length of placing the finances of pubUc education on a state-wide basis,
it will, nevertheless, be desirable for those responsible for the formulation
of the tax system of the state to bear in mind the possibihty of this develop-
ment. Moreover, there seems to be good ground for the beUef that what-
ever may be done in the direction of enlarging the size of school districts,
the subvention problem of the state must increase rather than decrease
in importance if equahzation is to be attained.
Even though no material change is made in the amount of state support,
the present system of apportioning state aid among the localities has no
vaHd excuse for continued existence. It is suggested that the needed
revision will prove beneficial in proportion as it bases grants of state aid
to education on the best obtainable knowledge of the cost of the satisfac-
tory Tninimiim of schooling, and the best obtainable measures of the
economic resources of the several school units.
$2,470,515,304. A percentage of 3.443 levied on this amount would yield $85,059,842. This amount is 77.6
per cent of the total amount needed to provide a state-wide expenditure of $75.98 per pupil in A. D. A. To
raise this amount it would be necessary to make a levy of .997 of one per cent additional. The total state-
wide school percentage would therefore be 4.44 per dollar of total economic resources. On this basis 3.43
per cent would be retained in each taxing district and .997 of one per cent would be paid into the state aid
fund to be redistributed among the counties.
On this basis a coimty whose economic resources per pupil were $1,711 would receive from the state
aid fimd exactly as much as it has contributed, and so would break even. Those coimties whose economic
resources were less than $1,711 per pupil would receive more than they paid in; there are 52 counties of
this sort. Tioga, the poorest county, would raise a total of $23.62 per pupil. Of this amount $5.30 would
be paid in to the state, but the coimty would receive from the state a total of $57.66 per pupil, more than
ten times as much as was contributed. New York City and Albany, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, and Westches-
ter Counties would receive less than they contributed to the fund. Westchester, the richest county,
would collect in school taxes $97.99 per pupil. Of this amount $22.01 per pupil would be contributed to
the state and nothing would be received in return.
Were it to be decided to expend $100 or $125 or any other amount per pupil, the tax rates for school
purposes would be changed in corresponding degree, but the ratio between the tax retained locally and that
paid in to the state to be redistributed would remain the same.
This illustration is thrown into this form with the expressed intention of avoiding the inference that the
Commission desires to suggest that the local tax be levied on real estate. The Commission makes no recom-
mendation regarding the form of the tax system to be used in making the necessary draft upon economic
resources.
>
>
CHAPTER XIII
THE SEPARATE FINANCING OF SCHOOLS
•
Attention has been called to the fact that a community which is suf-
ficiently strong economically and is possessed of a sufficiently efficient
fiscal system, may find itself frustrated in its effort to secure funds to pay
for an educational program it really wants because of the shortcomings of
the arrangements provided for ascertaining the community's desires on
financial issues.' The vacillation to be found in the recent history of school
legislation in the State of New York would raise the question sharply as to
whether the machinery of representation has been operating efficiently.
The adoption of the township as the unit of rural school organization in one
year only to be swept away the next, and the opposition which has devel-
oped to the continuation school law even before it has come completely into
operation are instances. Too Uttle care is taken to make sure that pro-
posals harmonize with the wishes of those who must after all make the
sacrifices to pay the bills.^ This is a broad question of political science
which cannot be fully discussed in this report. There is one aspect of it,
however, which is of such particular interest at the present time in the
State of New York that the Commission has felt justified in gathering the
fullest possible data bearing upon it. This is the question of the so-called
" fiscal independence " of school boards.
The final decision with respect to the amount of money to be spent for
education rests in the majority of the cities of the State of New York with
the board of education.'
1 That the public is becoming conscious of the importance of greater accuracy, in determining what the
community wants in taxation and public expenditures, is indicated by a recent editorial in the Saturday
Evening Pott which concluded with the declaration that "Taxation without representation is no worse than
taxation with misrepresentation."
* The possible repressive economic effects of distributing voting power in such a manner that control
rests with persons who are not conscious taxpayers is mentioned in Chapter X, p. 155.
* Boards of education in the State of New York have absolute powers to fix appropriations in the cities of
Auburn, Batavia, Canandaigua, Cohoes, Coming, Dimkirk, Geneva, Mechanicville, Middletown, North
Tonawanda, Norwich, Ogdensburg, Olean, Port Jervis, Rome, Saratoga Springs, Sherrill, Tonawanda,
Utica, and Watervliet. Oswego is in dispute. The mayor, legislative body, or board of estimate may veto
items in the school budget in Amsterdam, Cortland, Fulton, Glen Cove, Gloversville, Johnstown, Kingston,
Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Oneida, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Rensselaer, Salamanca, Watertown. and
White Plains. Such vetoed items may be restored, however, by a two-thirds, four-fifths, or unanimous
vote of the board of education. Final authority to fix the school budget, excepting salaries, rests with the
board of estimate and apportionment or the legislative body or both in Albany, Beacon, Binghamton, Buf-
falo, Elmira, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse, Troy, and Yonkers. In
the City of New York the Board of Estimate has the right to fix any appropriations in excess of an
amount equal to 4.9 mills on every dollar of assessed valuation of real and personal property of the city.
In Hudson the legislative body has power when the amount exceeds an amount equal to $40.00 per pupil.
New York State Bureau of Municipal Information, Report Number 712.
177
■i
178 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
In the larger cities of the state, however, this decision rests with the
board of estimate and apportionment, or with the city legislative body,
or with both. The issue of the separate financing of schools by municipal
boards of education has become acute in the larger cities on account of the
two per cent tax limitation imposed by the constitution of the state. Even
before this difl&culty arose a most lively discussion of the issue had been
carried on by such groups as the official organization of the mayors and
comptrollers of the state on the one hand, and the boards of education
and superintendents of schools on the other.
The issue is not confined to the cities of the State of New York.
All over the country the practice varies and argument is carried on most
vigorously. Throughout the discussion of the problem in this report,
the cities in which the boards of education have complete control of their
own finances will be called independent. In these communities, the boards
of education levy the tax, collect the money, and expend it according to
their own best judgment. The financing of schools is entirely separate
from any control by other municipal authorities. In those communities in
which the board of education presents its recommendations to a reviewing
authority who determines the amount to be expended, and in many cases
the amounts for each separate item of the budget, the board of education
is called dependent.^
In order to secure data upon which to base conclusions with regard
to the results of separate financing, as over against dependence upon a
general fiscal authority, the Inquiry utihzed data from 377 cities reporting
to the National Committee for Chamber of Commerce Cooperation with
the Public Schools.^
Information concerning the number of pupils in average daily attend-
ance was secured from the United States Bureau of Education, while data
concerning the issuance of school bonds and bonded indebtedness were
secured in part from the Commercial and Financial Chronicle.' Figures
from this source were found to check very closely with those furnished to
the National Committee for Chamber of Commerce Cooperation with the
PubUc Schools.
It is important to note that data were available for cities of all sizes. Of
the twenty-five cities whose population exceeds 250,000, twenty-two are
» A more complete report on this problem is issued by the Educational Finance Inquiry Commission under
the title, "Fiscal Administration of City School Systems." In this more complete report, the cities which
do not fall in either of these distinctive groups are classified aa "special." In this group are placed those
cities whose school budgets are passed upon by a coimty commission or other especially constituted author-
ity, such as the town meeting in New England, or the county authority in Ohio, Oklahoma, and other
western states.
* These data were made available by an inquiry conducted by the National Committee for Chamber of
Commerce Cooperation with the Public Schools, G. D. Strayer, Chairman, Teachers College, Columbia
University, New York City. Published by American City Bureau, New York City. July, 1921.
» "Commercial and Financial Chronicle," State and City Section, Part I, New England, Middle, and
Central States. June 2o, 1921. and Part II, Western, Pacific, and Southern States, December 31, 1921.
>
THE SEPARATE FINANCING OF SCHOOLS
179
included in this study. A somewhat smaller percentage of cities between
y 100,000 and 250,000 population are included, approximately four-fifths
of them furnishing data. Fifty per cent of the cities between 30,000 and
100,000 are included ; and thirty-five per cent of those between 8,000 and
30,000.
The cities were, as well, scattered throughout the various sections of the
country. In order to make comparison among the various cities, it is
necessary to use some measure of the central tendency or practice for each
group with respect to the various items under consideration. In general,
three such measures were used. First the " average " or arithmetic mean ;
second, the median or middle case ; and third, a measure obtained by
combining the totals for a given group of cities into a single total and treat-
ing all the cities in that group as if they were one city or constituted a
single school system.
A careful analysis of the total income for school purposes in the 377
cities from which data were available was made in an attempt to discover
whether any significant difference existed among the several groups in the
percentage of income derived from various sources. The income of each
school system was distributed under five heads according as it was derived
from (1) the state, (2) the federal government, (3) the county, (4) local
taxation, and (5) from all other or non-revenue miscellaneous sources.
These amounts were converted into percentages of the total income.
Table 51, which follows, gives the middle case, or mean city, in each of
the three groups — independent, dependent, and special.
TABLE 51
SOURCES OF REVENUE FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES
Median » Percentage op Receipts prom Each op Five Sources, 1920
Cities
State
Federal
governmf.nt
County
Local Taxes
Miscellane-
ous
Independent. . .
Special ....
Dependent . . .
AU cities ....
10.4%
8.3
12.4
10.1
0.0%
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0%
0.0
0.0
0.0
77.2%
69.6
72.1
74.2
5.4%
5.1
3.8
5.3
^ Middle case.
The appearance of the zeros for federal and county receipts is due to the
fact that more than one-half of the cities show no receipts from these
sources. The differences in the median percentages of income derived
from the state by the three classes of cities are probably not significant.
The amount of money made available to local communities through state
subventions is probably in no way affected by the fiscal status of municipal
180 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
boards of education. That so large a proportion of the total amount of
money necessary to finance municipal school systems is derived from local
taxation gives added importance to the question of the fiscal status of the
board of education.
A careful study was made to discover whether or not the percentage of
the total budget raised locally might be considered significant in relation
to the fiscal authority and control of the local school budget. The av-
erage percentage raised locally was found to be 73 for the independent
cities, and 72 for the dependent cities. It seems improbable that so small
a difference in the averages could properly be interpreted as due to the
form of fiscal control. In order to make certain whether or not it was
significant, the reliability of the difference between these averages was
computed.^
I Two elements must be taken into consideration in determining the reliability of statistical measures
of central tendency. One is the wideness of the dispersion or scattering of the individual measures about
the average, or other measure of central tendency, for the whole group of measures. The greater this
dispersion, the less reliable the average obtained from that particular group of measures.
The second element of importance in determining the reliability of such a measure is the number of
cases or individual measures which were the basis for the computation for the average or other measure of
central tendency. Other things being equal, the greater the number of cases the more reliable is the average
computed from the individual measures for these cases.
To illustrate — let it be supposed that the average for each of two groups of 100 cities is 70 per cent ;
suppose that in the first group all of the individual measures lie between 67 and 73 per cent inclusive;
suppose that in the second group the one hundred different percentages range all the way from 30 to 95
per cent. It is obvious that the true average of the first group is more likely to be the 70 per cent obtained,
or that it will fall between 68 and 72 per cent than it is true that the average of the second group shall fall
between the same narrow limits. A very little shifting of the measures in the widely scattered group
might easily pull the average down to 65 per cent, or increase it to 74 per cent, but it would require a more
complete shifting of measures in the closely grouped distribution to produce a like effect.
The other element entering into the reliability of the average, the number of cases, can be easily under-
stood. If we suppose that in two distributions of the percentages imder discussion in which we again obtain
an average of 70 per cent for each group, that in each case the individual measures range from 60 to 80 per
cent, but that in the first distribution there are ten cities represented, and in the second one hundred cities,
any one would reach the conclusion without argument that the hgure obtained from averaging the one
hundred cities would be more reliable. In the case in which we have only ten meastires a slight shifting
may cause a considerable displacement in the obtained average, while an entirely similar shifting of the same
number of cases in the second group would make very little difference.
For those versed in statistics the following formula may prove useful :
If N be the number of cases and
S D be the Standard Deviation of Group A, and N _ and S.D. _ the corresponding measures for Group B,
A a a
the P.E. of the obtained difference between the averages of the two groups is computed by the following
formula :
FJ&. of difference of average " 0.6745
f
iS.D.g)*
N,
In case of the percentage of the revenue derived from local sources the P.E. of the difference between
the average percentages for the independent and dependent cities is indicated as follows :
P.E.
Dur. At's.
0.6745
> 172
19.7«
94
1.6 per cent.
The average percentages obtained from the two groups were — independent cities 73.1 and dependent
cities 72.4 per cent. Therefore, the difference in the averages obtained is
(73.1 - 72.4) ± 1.6 = 0.7 ± 1.6.
The obtained difference of 0.7 per cent is too small to be considered significant when we have this measure
of the probable error of the difference of the averages found to be 1.6 per cent. If the difference between
the averages had been three times as much as 1.6 per cent or greater than that it would commonly have
been considered large enough to have called the difference in the averages significant.
>
<~^
THE SEPARATE FINANCING OF SCHOOLS
181
The averages actually obtained were 73.1 per cent for the independent
cities, and 72.4 per cent for the dependent cities. The reliabiUty of these
measures, as determined by carefully considered statistical methods, is
best represented by saying that the difference of .7 per cent in the aver-
ages obtained is subject to a correction of plus or minus 1.6 per cent. In
other words, it is not a significant difference.
If the difference in the obtained average had been three times, or more
than three times, £is great as the measure of reliabihty of the difference
obtained, that is, if the difference of the obtained averages had been three
times 1.6 per cent, or 4.8 per cent, or more, then there would have been
justification for the conclusion that the obtained averages indicated a
significant difference with respect to the percentage of total revenues
derived from local sources in dependent and independent cities. The
same technique was applied in the case of a great variety of other measures.
The conclusions arrived at will be stated without again presenting the
method employed.^
One of the most important findings recorded in the following table is
that the total expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance for all
school purposes shows practically no difference as between the cities whose
schools are separately financed and those in which the school budget is
determined by the general municipal fiscal authority. The investigation
shows conclusively that the separate financing of schools has not resulted
in extravagance.
The significant differences with respect to fiscal administration are such
as to leave the question of the desirability of one form of administration
as over against the other to be determined by other considerations. The
cities in which the boards of education are in complete control of the
finances of the school system, including the right to levy taxes, show a
larger tax rate, a larger percentage of the total municipal tax rate devoted
to schools, a larger expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance for
general control, for maintenance of plant, for fixed charges, capital outlay,
and debt service, than do the dependent. On the other hand, the com-
munities in which the boards of education are dependent upon the general
municipal authority show a larger bonded indebtedness per capita, and a
larger expenditure for instructional service. The technique employed
in determining which of these differences were significant was appUed as
well to certain educational factors reported in Dr. G. W. Frasier's study
> A special inquiry was undertaken with respect to the limitations, in the rate of tax which may be levied,
imposed upon boards of education that enjoy fiscal independence. Reports were received from 94 cities.
Of the group 77.7 per cent reported a limit fixed by law, while 28.8 per cent having a legal maximum reported
that they were now levying a tax equal to the maximum permitted to them. That more than 70 per cent
of the boards of education limited by law in the amount of tax which they could levy are financing the
schools on a levy lower than that permitted by law is to be interpreted as definitely establishing the fact
that they have accepted full responsibility for the financing of schools in their several communities. They
are not merely operating upon the basis of a tax levy established for them.
i''^
182 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
entitled " Fiscal Control of City School Systems/' It was found that
the independent cities showed a greater percentage of 16- and 17-year old
children enrolled in the schools ; that they provided a larger percentage of
TABLE 52
DIFFERENCES FOUND BETWEEN CITIES HAVING INDEPENDENT
AND DEPENDENT BOARDS OF EDUCATION IN TERMS OF
CERTAIN OBJECTIVE MEASURES
275 American Cities Reporting for the Year 1919-1920
>
THE SEPARATE FINANCING OF SCHOOLS
TABLE 52 (Cmtinued)
183
Average
Average
Critical
Ratio of
•
FOR
Independent
FOR
Dependent
Difference
Cities
CiTIBS
BETWEEN
Averages
A. Significant Differences
1. Financial Factors
a. Percentage of real valuation at whicl
i
taxable property is assessed . .
69.1
84.6
9.7
h. School tax rates per 1100 real valua-
-
tion
SO 915
$0 77
34
c. Percentage which school tax rate is
i
of total municipal tax rate . .
41.4
33.3
5.8
d. Municipal bonded indebtedness out
-
•
standing per capita
$43.46
$56.92
4.8
e. Percentage which school bonded deb1
b
is of total municipal bonded debt
38.1
31.2
3.7
/. Percentage which total municipa
I
bonded debt is of total real valuatioi
i
of taxable property
3.5
4.1
3.0
g. General control, expenditure pei
pupil in A. D. A
$3.08
$2.53
4.6
h. Instructional service, per pupil .
$45.19
$51.54
4.6
i. Teachers' salaries, per pupil . .
$38.25
$42.97
4.1
j. Maintenance of plant, per pupil .
$3.33
$2.80
3.1
k. Fixed charges, per pupil . . .
$1.10
$0.50
15.0
I. Capital outlay, per pupil . . .
$5.64
$3.91
10.2
m. Debt service, per pupil . . ,
$9.22
$4.97
5.6
n. Percentage of increased cost of living
r
>
from 19ia-14 to 1919-20 that was
J
met by increased salaries for womeo
I
elementary teachers
76.3
63.1
3.0
2. Educational Factors
a. Percentage of sixteen and seventeei
I
year old children in school . . . .
41.8
32.9
4.4
5. Percentage of pupils having sixty oi
»
more square feet of playground each
58.4
39.7
4.5
c. Percentage of women elementary
teachers having six or more years oj
1
training above eighth grade . . .
69.7
77.9
3.2
d. Percentage of children enrolled who
attend school all day, and in ade-
quate buildings owned by the city .
93.2
88.1
3.4
a
B. Differences Probably Not Signifi^xint
1. Financial Factors
a. Percentage of total school revenue
derived from local taxation . . .
b. Real valuation of taxable property
per capita
c. Total municipal tax rates per $100
real valuation
d. School bonded indebtedness per
pupil in A. D. A
c. Percentage which school bonded
debt is of real valuation of taxable
property
/. Total expenditure for all school pur-
poses, per pupil in A. D. A. . . .
g. Current expense for schools, per
pupil
h. Operation of plant, per pupil . .
t. Auxiliary agencies, per pupil . . .
j. Health service, per pupil ....
2. Educational Factors
o. Percentage of elementary classes
having fewer than forty pupils en-
rolled
Average
FOR
Independe:nt
Cities
Average
FOR
Dependent
Cities
73.1
$1,367
$2.24
$99.73
1.3
$83.28
$63.04
$8.51
$1.34
$0.49
65.7
72.4
$1,509
$2.34
$116.03
1.2
$84.29
$67.49
$8.54
$1.58
$0.51
69.8
Critical
Ratio of
Difference
BETWEEN
Averages
0.5
2.1
1.3
2.2
0.8
0.3
2.4
0.1
1.9
0.5
1.3
their pupils with sixty or more square feet of playground space each;
and that a larger percentage of the children enrolled attended school all
day in adequate school buildings owned by the city. It appeared that the
dependent cities had a somewhat larger percentage of women elementary
school teachers who had six or more years of training beyond the grade of
the elementary school.
In the light of the evidence made available by this inquiry, the separate
financing of municipal school systems must be considered on ground other
than that of the cost to the community, since the costs of schools admin-
istered under the two forms of organization are approximately equal.
1
CHAPTER XIV
PROBLEMS OF ORGAIHZATION AND ADBONISTRATION
Budgetary Procedure in the State op New York
The General Education Law of the State of New York provides that the
board of education of each school district shall " present at the annual
meeting a detailed statement in writing of the money which will be required
for the ensuing year for school purposes." ^ It is also provided " after the
presentation of such statement or estimate, the question shall be taken
upon voting the necessary taxes to meet the estimated expenditures, and
when demanded by any voter present, the question shall be taken upon
each item separately. . . ." *
Incorporated villages or cities in which union free schools shall be es-
tablished " shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to raise, from
time to time, by tax, to be levied upon all the real and personal property
in said city or village, as by law provided for the defraying of the ex-
penses of its municipal government, such sum as the board of education
estabUshed therein shall declare necessary for teachers' salaries and the
ordinary contingent expenses of supporting the schools of said district.
" The sums so declared necessary shall be set forth in a detailed state-
ment in writing, addressed to the corporate authorities by the board of
education, giving the various purposes of anticipated expenditure, and
the amount necessary for each ; and the said corporate authorities shall
have no power to withhold the sums so declared to be necessary ; and such
corporate authorities as aforesaid shall have power, and it shall be their
duty to raise, from time to time, by tax as aforesaid, any such further sum
to be set forth in a detailed statement in writing, addressed to the cor-
porate authorities by the board of education, giving the various purposes
of the proposed expenditure, and the amount necessary for each which may
have been or which may hereafter be authorized by a majority of the voters
of such union free school district present and voting at any special dis-
trict meeting duly convened. . . ." •
In like manner, in the cities of the State of New York operating under
special statute and charter provisions, the board of education is required
to prepare a budget and to submit it to various reviewing authorities.
> Education Law, July 1. 1921, Section 323.
> Education Law, July 1, 1921, Section 324.
• Education Law, July 1, 1921, Section 327.
184
/
r
PROBLEMS OF ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 185
In a great majority of the cities of the state, the board of education
exercises final authority as to the amounts that shall be expended for
schools.^
The general law of the State of New York provides that estimated ex-
penditures be made in three divisions — (1) salaries, (2) incidental and
contingent expenses, and (3) capital outlay and debt service. Under
each of these general heads are listed detailed items for which estimates
shall be made. The budget for the City of Rochester gives a classifica-
tion of expenditures by character, function, and object. These items are
conveniently grouped, making a rapid analysis possible. Neither in the
general law of the state nor in the practice of most of the school boards,
are income and work programs included as a part of the budgetary proce^
dure. They must, one supposes, enter in some degree into the thought of
those who develop the estimates of expenditure. Sound procedure would
require that both the estimates of income and the work programs be as
clearly and definitely placed before the reviewing body and before the
electorate as are the estimates of expenditures.
The inability of the very great majority of conmiunities in the State
of New York to report accurately their expenditures for such general
functions as instruction, maintenance of plant, operation of plant, and the
like, segregated with respect to certain divisions of the school systems —
kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, vo-
cational schools, — is evidence of a failure to keep the accounts necessary
for efficient budgetary procedure. If budget estimates are to be accepted
as valid, they should be based upon a careful analysis of costs that have
been incurred in the years which have preceded. It is only with such a
sound basis in cost accounting that reliable estimates can be made with
respect to contemplated expenditures.
Salary schedules adopted commonly throughout the state, on the other
hand, have contributed in very considerable measiu-e to the development
of budgetary estimates which approach the actual needs of the school
system. If in connection with the salary schedule adequate estimates of
the turnover in this type of service, together with the levels in the salary
schedule at which new teachers enter the service, are coupled with a care-
ful study of the expectancy with respect to the enrohnent for the ensuing
year, a large percentage of the total budget may be estimated with a reason-
able degree of accuracy.
Estimates of the cost of other personal service such as clerks, engineers,
janitors, can be estimated with as clear or greater assurance than the esti-
mates for teachers' salaries. If the account is sufficiently adequate to
show unit costs for the various divisions of the school system, it will like-
wise be possible to estimate with a very small percentage of error the cost
> See p. 177, footnote 3.
r
y'
/
186 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
of instructional service, supplies, and the materials used in the maintenance
and operation of the school plant.
An interesting sidelight is thrown upon present budgetary procedure
when the facts with respect to cash balances on hand are examined. At
the beginning of the school year 1920, there were cash balances on hand
amounting to more than 43 millions, or about 25 per cent of the entire
amount available for schools during that school year. Upon investiga-
tion most of the larger balances were found to represent the proceeds of
bond sales not yet disbursed for the buildings for which they were intended.
But this was not true in all cases where the cash balances were large. In
the City of Gloversville, for example, a cash balance had been accumulated
over a period of years which was so large that no school tax at all was nec-
essary in 1920. A similar situation was found to exist in a half dozen
rural school districts, mostly contract districts which sent their pupils to
schools in other districts and had no charges to meet except tuition. One
district had a balance sufficiently great to meet the total estimated ex-
penses for three years in advance, without taking into account the sub-
stantial subsidies which it received from the state. Such cases are dis-
tinctly exceptions. On the other hand, a large number of districts re-
ported no cash balance at all. Yet the small size of the temporary debt
and the fact that only two districts reported deficits — in both cases neg-
ligible in amount — raise a presumption that the school boards are very
generous in their budget estimates.^
In most cases there appears to be no occasion for large cash balances
at the beginning of the school year, taxes being collectible early in the
period, before any large disbursements are made. Certainly there is no
justification for depriving taxpayers of the use of their money for periods
of several years before it is actually needed for school purposes.
Sound budgetary procedure requires not only accurate estimates of
costs, but also estimates of income and a statement of the work program
to be followed. It is only as income is balanced against estimated costs
> A fairly comprehensive view of the sitviation regardiDg cash balances is given in the following statement
of the average relationship between cash balances and total funds available for the year in the sample
studied. (See p. 104.)
County aggregate including New York
City
County aggregate excluding New York
City
City, including New York City ....
City, excluding New York City ....
Villages over 4,500
Union Schools
Rural Schools
Median i Peb Cent
8.7
8.4
8.0
8.6
2.5
4.8
6.9
Aritb. Mean* Peb Cent
24.9
12.7
28.4
14.3
8.4
8.6
10.1
.0
/
* Middle case.
'Average.
PROBLEMS OP ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 187
y that it becomes clear that any particular program can be financed out of
/ the revenu^ available. It is of the greatest importance that budgetary
procedure be unproved; that boards of education adopt budgets which
Imut their appropriations to their income, and that they confine their ex-
penditures to the appropriations voted. With such procedure estabUshed,
the electorate of the several communities involved may be expected to
show a more intelligent interest in the program of education decided upon
their^chX"^ ^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^"^ ^^°^^^*^ ^ *''^ ^'^'^^ support of
School Accounting
As has already been indicated in the discussion of budgetary procedure
there is great need for more adequate accounting in most of the school
systems of the State of New York. The State Department of Educati^
has made available a system of accounting and has provided instruction
S^Ll ^f'^ V °? f ..*'"' f '*""• ^^ *" "^ *•»« communities within the
State of New York followed the directions furnished, it would be possible
to establish unit costs.
hpfnT,l r*K "t'^t °J *^ ^^"^ "^ ^'''^'^^ ^^^^"^ '^""'d prove most
helpful to tbe local administrative officers in the financing of their school
systems. The reports based upon such accounting are essential to the
development of any adequate state supervision or responsibility for the
fixiancing of schools. It is apparent, from the failure of a large majority
of the cities of the state to make adequate returns from the forn^
based upon the state system of accounting, that most of the school
authorities have not considered it necessary or expedient to establish as
iScatL**'*^'"'*^^ ^ *'^* recommended by the State Department of
The administration of schools in the smaller viUages and rural areas
by lay boards of education, without adequate professional administrative
service, precludes the possibility of accurate accounting for these areas
Only as larger units of administration are organized can we hope for the
development of satisfactory accounting and of satisfactory budgetary Dro-
cedure in these areas. j s j' piu-
Sound administrative procedure calls for the development of adequate
accounting m all school areas within the state. It is only as administra-
tive officers or boards of education know with exactness the cost of any par-
ticular part of the educational program that they are competent to pass
upon the question of its continuance or development. Without a very
much more adequate system than is now commonly practiced, it is not
possible for school authorities to discover the waste which may exist within
the whole or some part of the school system, or to plan adequately the
program of work to be undertaken in future years.
'^
188 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Financing Capital Outlays
In cities with coterminous school-district and city boundaries, school
bond issues are subject to the same Umitations as other city bond issues.
In cities whose school-district and city boundaries are not coterminous,
in union free school districts, and in rural districts, school bonds are issued
on a majority vote of the electorate. In districts with an assessed valua-
tion in excess of $500,000 the amount of such issues may not exceed fifteen
per cent of such assessed valuation, except upon the vote of two-thirds
of the electorate. No legal Umitation is placed on the amount of the
issues of other districts, but the purposes are restricted to capital outlays
and refunding.! The rate of interest is hmited to six per cent and bonds
may not be sold below par.
Statements have been made in an earlier chapter ^ regarding the ex-
tent to which new plant has been financed from current expenses. Table
53 shows the relationship of the school bonded debt to real estate values,
to the values of school property, and to total bonded indebtedness for all
purposes, in the cities, villages, and towns in 1920.
TABLE 53
GROSS BONDED DEBT FOR EDUCATION COMPARED WITH FULL
VALUE OF TAXABLE REAL ESTATE, VALUE OF SCHOOL
PROPERTY, AND BONDED DEBT FOR ALL PURPOSES —
CITIES, VILLAGES, AND TOWNS -STATE OF
NEW YORK, 1920
New York
CiTT
Othkb Citixs
Ratio of bonded debt for education to full value of
taxable real estate •
Ratio of bonded debt for education to value of
school property j . 1
Ratio of bonded debt for education to total debt
for all purposes
1.4%
76.3
8.0
ViLIiAOCS AND
TOWNB
1.1%
37.8
1.8
.6%
23.42
27.8
Data concerning the relationship of net indebtedness to the value of
school property in 1920 are presented in Table 54.
It has not been possible to check adequately the figures for the value
of school property ; but from such evidence as is available, the valua-
tions seem to be low. The valuations given in the report of the State
Tax Commission are very much lower, but on the other hand, valuations
of buildings made by insurance men run about thirty per cent higher.
This means that the ratio of the outstanding debt to the value of school
property as given in the table is high, rather than low. It is clear that in
1 See p. 106.
PROBLEMS OF ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 189
the aggregate the school property of the state is not bonded to an extent
y which approaches closely the theoretical limit. Taking the state as a
whole, the outstanding bonded debt in 1920 amounted to 56 per cent of
the value of sites and buildings. If cash balances are subtracted from the
outstanding bonds, the percentage drops to 35. However, there exist
particular cases where borrowing has been carried to an extremely high
point. The City of New York is more heavily bonded for school purposes
than other cities according to all three methods of measurement used in
Table 53. The village and rural schools have utilized their credit rel-
atively little to finance their operations.
TABLE 54
RATIO OF NET INDEBTEDNESS ^ TO TOTAL VALUE OF SCHOOL
PROPERTY — STATE OF NEW YORK, 1920
t'^m."
County aggregate
City
Villages over 4,500
Union School . .
Rural School . .
High Case
58.8%
75.2
76.3
78.7
1435.0*
Middle Case
12.4%
23.2
27.5
.8
None
Low Cask
Arithmetic
AVEBAOE
None
35.1%
None
39.8
None
30.8
None
21.0
None
12.1
* Bonded plus temporary, with sinking funds and cash balances subtracted.
* There are three cases of rural school districts which report a net debt in excess of property values, with
percentages of 1435, 235, and 114 respectively. In 1921, the first of these reports no debt at all and the
other two report debts of approximately 80 per cent and 50 per cent of the value of school property. These
are apparently, therefore, not cases of excessive indebtedness, but rather districts which were erecting new
buildings and had not yet changed the valuation in the report. In each of the three cases there is a large
increase in the value of pr(^;>erty reported in 1921.
Table 55 gives the bonded debt per child of school age for the various
classes of districts in 1920. It is of interest to note the heavy debt of
villages as compared with union school and rural school districts.
TABLE 55
BONDED DEBT PER CHILD OF SCHOOL AGE
YORK, 1920
— STATE OF NEW
County aggregate
City
Villages over 4,500
Union School . .
Rural School '
HioH Casb
103.74
178.85
437.61
341.46
700.00
Middle Case
17.35
32.41
42.43
4.37
None
Low Case
None
None
None
None
None
Aritricetic
Average ^
71.51
94.36*
66.15
42.41
15.70
» The arithmetic average is much higher than the median or middle case because it is greatly influenced
by the large debt occurring in a few cities and districts.
• The average for New York City is $96.49 and for other cities $54.83.
• More than three-fourths of the rural schools studied reported no bonded debt.
190 FINANCING OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
It is possible for municipalities and for school districts in the State of
New York to issue bonds under either the serial or the sinking fund plan.^
The net cost to the community of serial bonds is the same as the cost of
so-called straight or sinking fund bonds, provided the sinking fund earns
interest at the same rate that the bonds bear. In point of fact, however,
municipal sinking funds are not always maintained at this high degree of
efficiency. It has sometimes happened that through mismanagement not
only have interest rates been too low on the sinking fund as it is accumu-
lated, but the temptation to borrow from the sinking fund for current ex-
penditures has sometimes been too strong to be resisted. From the ad-
ministrative standpoint, as well as from the strictly fiscal point of view,
it would probably be best under existing conditions to require that all
bonds issued be of the serial type.
Insurance
Fire losses constitute a relatively small item in the general charge for
capital outlay during any one year. Over a period of years for an area
the size of New York, this loss becomes considerable. Educational insti-
tutions in the United States lost more than twenty-six million dollars worth
of property by fire in the period 1916-1920 inclusive. If such losses are
avoided or reduced, it will be because fires are prevented. That the prob-
ability of destruction of school buildings by fire varies with the type of struc-
ture and with the fire protection offered by the community, is indicated
by the variation in rate among the different types of school units within
the State of New York. The middle case three-year term rates per $100
for insurance of school buildings in the State of New York are as follows :
Cities of the second class
Cities of the third class
Villages over 4,500 . .
Union free school districts
Rural schools ....
$1.09
1.00
1.00
1.18 to 1.46
1.50
A wide variation exists in the rate charged, determined by the class of
construction, the provision made for preventing or extinguishing fires, and
the location of buildings. If losses are to be avoided, it will be because
fireproof buildings are constructed, because old buildings are carefully
renovated and fire prevention equipment installed, and because there is
an insistence upon that kind of good housekeeping which reduces fire risks.
» "Under the provisions of the Education Law, sections 480 and 877, subd. 1-c, bonds nuiy be issued for
the general purposes of the acquisition of school sites and the erection of school buildings. There is no
statutory limitation as to the duration of these bonds found in the Education Law except as issued by a
common school district in which the limitation is twenty years from the date of the meeting at which the
bonds were voted. It is customary to issue such bonds for periods varying from twenty to forty years
although we recommend that in union free school districts the bonds should not extend beyond a period
of thirty years."
(From a letter of Irwin Esmond, Assistant Counsel, the University of the State of New York, State
Department of Education, Albany, March 9, 1923.)
PROBLEMS OF ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 191
A considerable gain would be made if heating plants were always inclosed
. within fireproof walls, entered only by self-closing fireproof doors ; if
/ basements, shops, laboratories, and other spaces where the fire risk is
greatest were equipped with sprinklers ; and if small and easily manipu-
lated fire extinguishers were made available at frequent intervals through-
out the school buildings.
For the individual community, unless it be a large city, fire insur-
ance in the commercial companies should be carried. If the'sort of fire
prevention which has been suggested were commonly practiced, the rate
of insurance on school buildings might be expected to be reduced. But
even with the present rates, it is good administrative procedure for all
except the larger communities to share the liability to loss with other com-
munities over a large area by insuring their buildings.
Codification of the Education Law
During the course of its investigation the Commission has been impressed
by the confused state of the education law. The difficulties involved in
administering a school system are greatly increased when the legal pro-
visions defining powers, duties, and limitations are not clearly stated. In
the State of New York the law is in many respects not clear, not complete,
and difficult of interpretation. As an illustration the reader is referred
to the sections which purport to set forth the requirements with respect to
the general educational program discussed on pages 22-28. The recodi-
fication of the education law, which would simplify, clarify, and eliminate
inconsistencies, would, in the opinion of the Commission, prove to be a
substantial aid to efficient administration.
v/ i
ESTDEX
193
SI
INDEX
Notes:
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all references are to public (tax-supported) edu-
cation and for the State of New York only.
2. The terms /edero/, state f local, cities, villages, union schools, and the like, seldom
occur as main heads. Material on them is to be sought in subdivisions of
other items as expenditures, debts, and the like.
3. Plain numbers as 35, 51 refer to pages; numbers preceded by T, as (T36),
to tables ; numbers preceded by D, as (Dl), to diagrams.
A page reference less than 17 indicates a summary.
4.
Academic fund, quotas from, 99(T37)
Academic quota, 99(T37)
Academies, sectarian, grants to, 99(T37)
Accounting, school, problems of, 187
Accrued economic charge, totals for plant
costs, 35(T3)
Accrued economic cost,
estimates of probable future, for all
education, 122
method of calculating, 82
totals for all education, 4, 6, 7
totals for public education, 38(T4)
Adams, T. S., 158
Additional teachers' quota, 98, 99(T37)
Administration,
general state, cash disbursements for
capital outlay, 6, 81(T26)
of public education in the state,
problems of, 13, 184(Chap. XIV)
summary of, 3
Adult education, 67-70
Advertising, expenditures for, and edu-
cation, 147
Advisory committee, list of, iv
Age limits for attendance at school,
23, 24(D1)
Agricultural education, federal subven-
tions to, total receipts and
expenditures, 102(f.n.l)
Agricultural extension work, coopera-
tive, federal subventions to,
95(T36)
Agricultural research, value of, 144
Agriculture, New York State College
of, 96(f.n.2)
Agriculture, United States Department
of, federal subventions for
education, 95(T36,f.n.2)
Agriculture and mechanic arts, colleges
of, federal subventions to,
95(T36)
Alfred University, 26
Algebra, instruction costs in high
schools, 66(T20)
American City Bureau, 178(f.n.2)
American Council on Education, iii,
iv
Americanization, program for, 27
Americanization quota, 100(f.n.l6)
Amortization of debt, account taken of,
31(f.n.2)
Angell, J. R., iv
Annual accrued economic cost, see
Accrued economic cost
Apparatus and books, grants for,
99(T37)
Apportionment, supplementary, quota
for, 99(T37)
Appreciation in value of sites of school
buildings, 80, 88
192
/
>/
y
t
Arithmetic in elementary schools, cost
by grades, 53(T14), 55(T15)
Arts, see Fine and practical arts
Assessments, real estate. See also Taxes,
per capita by type of district, 100(f .n.)
rate on land values, boroughs of New
York City, 90
suggested reform of, 157
Attendance,
age limits of,
cost of extending, 118
program on, 23, 24(D1)
average daily,
increase in, 138
total by counties, 167(T48)
high school, increase in percentage of
population attending high
school, 138(f.n.l)
private and parochial schools,
117(f.n.l)
Automobile education, evening school
instruction costs in, 69(T22)
Balances, cash, totals for, 186(f.n.l)
Bank-stock tax, 109, 114
Blind, education of the, see Special
education
Boards of education, fiscal independence
of, 177(Chap. XIII)
Bond Buyer, The, 87
Bonded debt, see Debt, bonded
Bonds. See also Debt ; and Indebted-
ness,
school,
interest rates on, 89(T33),130(f.n.3)
purposes for which actually issued,
106(f.n.l)
purposes for which legally issued,
106
serial, value of, 190
Bookkeeping, instruction costs of, in
high schools, 66(T20)
Books and apparatus, grants for,
99(T37)
Brick buildings, percentage of all build-
ings, 91(T34)
Budgetary procedure in the State of New
York, problems of, 184
Building(s). See also Plant costs,
age of, in New York City and rural
areas, 83-87
costs, variations in, 130
life of, how determined, 82
maintenance and repairs of, relation
to current expenses, 31(f.n.l)
type of construction, by kinds of
districts, 91(T34)
Buildings and equipment,
depreciation in value of, 33, 80-91, 117
value of part worn out each year,
35(T3)
Burgess, W. R., 34(f.n.l)
Business taxes, 11, 109, 113, 157-159
California, state aid for schools in,
161 (f.n.)
Capital outlay. See also Plant costs,
cash disbursements for,
all public education, 31, 32(D2),
33(T2)
types of education, by, 81(T26)
cost for providing for all children in
state on basis of legal re-
quirements and higher stand-
ards, 119
cost per pupil for new construction,
120(f.n.2)
defined, 29
increase in, 34
problems of financing, 188
Carnegie Corporation, iii
Cash balances, totals for, 186(f.n.l)
Cash disbiu'sements, see Expenditures
Cash expenditures, see Expenditures
Chadsey, C. E., iv
Chamber of Commerce Cooperation with
the PubUc Schools, National
Committee for, 178
Charities and corrections, expenditures,
net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45),
154(D12)
Chemistry, high school instruction costs
of, 66(T20)
Cities. See also Urban. (For material
dealing with any particular
phase of education in cities,
e.g. elementary schools, look
for cities as a subhead under
the tables dealing with ele-
mentary schooLs.)
194
INDEX
Cities, classification of, 22(f.n.), 44(f.n.)
revenues, percentages from various
political divisions, classified
according to fiscal independ-
ence, 179(T51)
variations in elementary school costs,
44
Citizens' Conference on Education, iii
City of New York, see New York City
City school systems, separate financing
of, 177(Chap. XIII)
Clark, H. F., v
Clock-hour costs in evening schools, 68
College of the City of New York,
fees from, included in miscellaneous
revenue for public education,
103
place in state's educational program, 26
teacher training in, current expenses
for, 73, 74(T25)
College-education age period, 24(D1)
Colleges. See also Higher education,
agriculture and mechanic arts, federal
subventions to, 95(T36)
minimum salaries for, 75(T25A)
Commerce, see Chamber of Commerce
Commercial work, instruction costs of,
in high schools, 66(T20)
Common school fund, amounts for vari-
ous quotas and basis of dis-
tribution, 99(T37)
Common schools,
cash disbursements for capital outlay,
81(T26)
definition of, 40(f.n.l)
Commonwealth Fund, iii
Compulsory education, program of, 23
24(D1)
Compulsory school age, see Attendance
Concrete block buildings, percentage of
all buildings, 91 (T34)
Connecticut, salaries actually paid rural
teachers and principals,
78(T25C)
Consolidated high school, program on, 27
Continuation schools,
attendance in future, probable,
120(f.n.3)
cost if legal requirements and higher
standards were observed, 118
enrolment in, 25
program of, 23, 24(D1)
subventions for, federal,
amount, 95(T36, f.n.5)
state basis for distributing, 96
Contracting districts,
comparison of real estate valua-
tions with expenditures and
sources of revenue, 164(T46),
165(T47)
use of district quota, 98(f.n.4)
Control of pubhc education in the state,
3
Cooking, evening school instruction
costs in, 69(T21)
Cooper, H., v
Cooperative agricultural extension work,
federal subventions to,
95(T36)
Cooperative vocational work, federal
subventions for,
receipts for one year, 95(T36)
total receipts and expenditures for
five years, 102(f.n.l)
Cornell University, 26, 96
Corporation taxes, 11, 109, 113, 114, 157
Corporations, public service, value of
franchises, 132(T42, f.n.2)
Corrections, see Charities and correc-
tions
Cosmetics, expenditures for, and educa-
tion, 147
Cost(s) of education. (For data on the
cost of any particular kind
of education, as elementary
schools, look up that entry.)
and its growth, total, 4, 29(Chap. Ill)
increases in, probable future, 6, 7, 41,
120, 121
miscellaneous general, cash disburse-
ments for, 6, 40(T5)
summary of total, 4
totals, 36-39
totals for all education, present and
probable future, 116(Chap.
VIII)
totals for schools of diflFerent grades,
30-41
Counties,
debt, bonded school, per child of
school age, 189(T55)
percentage relation of net school
indebtedness to total value
of school property, 189(T54)
INDEX
195
V
/
\
Counties, individually,
income, taxable,
per child in average daily attend-
ance, 168(T49)
per child of school age, 168(T49)
per teacher, 168(T49)
total, 167(T48)
index of economic resources, 168(T49)
percentage which income is of full
value of real estate, 169(T50)
real estate, taxable, full value of,
per child of school age, 168(T49)
per pupil in average daily attend-
ance, 168(T49)
per teacher, 168(T49)
total, 167(T48)
County system of schools, relation to
state aid, 166
Country, see Rural
Crippled, education of the, see Special
education
Current expenses,
aggregate, 29
analyzed, 5, 42(Chap. IV)
defined, 29
defined as related to capital outlay,
31(f.n.l)
defined as related to interest, 42(f .n.l)
increase, in actual dollars, 4, 30(T1)
total for all education, 117
Davenport, F. M., 156
Davenport Legislative Committee, 110,
114(f.ns. 3, 4), 159, 160
Deaf, education of the, see Special edu-
cation
Debt. See also Bonds ; and Indebted-
ness,
all governmental purposes, total, re-
lation to bonded debt for
education, 188(T53)
amortization of, account taken of,
31 (f.n.2)
bonded, for education,
per child of school age, 189(T55)
percentage of full value of taxable
real estate, 188(T53)
percentage of total debt for all
purposes, 188(T53)
percentage of value of school prop-
erty, 188(T53)
summary, 8, 9
Delaware, state aid for schools in,
161 (f.n.)
Depreciation in buildings and equip-
ment, 33, 35(T3), 80-91, 117
Disbursements, see Expenditures
District quota, 98, 99(T37)
Districts, school,
number in state, 21
number in state by classes, 163
size of, as related to school support,
161
Diversion of educational support, 146,
147
Dollar, change in purchasing power of,
5, 21, 136(f.n.l)
Domestic science, see Home economics
Drawing, instruction costs of, in high
schools, 66(T20)
Dressmaking, evening school instruction
costs in, 69(T21)
Economic limitations of educational
expenditures, 12, 141 (Chap.
X)
Economic Research, National Bureau
of, 131, 134(f.n.l), 136, 149
Economic resources. See also Revenues,
compared with educational expendi-
tures, 11, 127(Chap. IX)
correlations with school expenditures,
173
correlations with state apportionment,
173
index of, 168(T49), 171
formula for, 172
Economies in high schools, caution on
thinking will come from
reducing curricula, 67 (f.n. 1)
Education law, problem of codification
of, 191
Educational Finance Inquiry,
list of Commission members, (inside
front cover)
list of publications, (inside back cover)
purpose of, 3, 19-21
Educational product, character of, 141
Electrical education, evening school
instruction costs in, 69(T22)
Elementary School Costs in the State of
New York (Educational Fi-
nance Inquiry publication),
48(f.n.3)
I
196
INDEX
i ■
Elementary schools,
cost of higher grades, 138(f.n.l)
current expenses of, 43-58
enrolment,
actual, 25
increase percent, 5
evening school cost for elementary
school work, 68(f.n.l)
grade costs for regular teachers, each
grade, 57(T16)
salaries actually paid, 77(T25B)
salaries in, legal minimum, 75(T25A)
total cost of, 40(T5)
training of teachers for, 26
Elementary and high schools com-
bined,
cash disbursements for, 5
cost of furnishing one day's schooling
for one child in, 14(T-A)
plant costs of, 6, 81(T26)
private and parochial, cost of, 117
Elementary science in elementary
schools,
cost by grades, 53(T14), 55(T15)
defined, 50
EUis, A. CasweU, 142(f.n.l)
English in elementary schools,
costs by grades, 53(T14), 55(T15)
defined, 49
Enghsh in high schools, instruction
costs of, 66(T20)
English, non-«peaking persons, program
for, 27
Enrolment,
all schools, 4, 25
increase in, 5
Equalization of educational opportunity
165(f.n.l), 173
Equipment. See also Plant costs
defined, 29 *
Equipment and buildings,
depreciation in value of, 33, 80-91
117
value of part worn out each year.
35(T3)
Evenden, E. S., 21
Evening schools,
enrolment, 25
formula for computing unit costs in.
68
instruction costs, 67-70
program of, 23, 24(D1)
Expenditures, all purposes, govern-
mental, net, totals and
percentages by function,
153(T45), 154(D12)
Expenditures, educational,
compared with economic resources
11, 127(Chap. IX)
correlations with economic resources
173
correlations with state apportion-
ment, 173
economic limitations of, 12, 141 (Chap.
X)
limiting factors, 127
one day's schooling, for,
amount, 14(T-A)
percentage increase in, 15(T-B)
16(I>-A)
per capita of population,
amount, 14(T-A)
percentage increase in, 15(T-B)
16(D-A)
per child of school age, compared with
real estate valuations and
sources of revenue on same
basis, 164(T46), 165(T47)
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
plant costs, 31, 32(D2), 33(T2)
total cash disbursements,
compared with value of real estate
and income, per child of school
age, 137(T43), 139(D10)
variations in, 135(D9)
total defined, 103
totals by counties, 167(T48)
totals for all education, analyzed by
kinds, 4, 5
totals for public education,
amounts, 14(T-A), 38(T4), 104
(T39), 153(T45), 154(D12)
percentage increase in, 15(T-B)
16(D-A)
totals by types of education, 40(T5)
Experiment stations, federal subven-
tions to, 95(T36)
Faraday's research, value of, 144
Farm schools, program on, 27
Federal funds, state basis for distrib-
uting, 96
INDEX
197
r.
\
Federal support, defined, 93(T35, f.n.3)
V Fine and practical arts, in elementary
^ schools,
cost by grades, 53(T14), 55(T15)
defined, 50
Finegan, T. E., 97(f.n.4)
Fireproof buildings, percentage of all
buildings, 91(T34)
Fiscal independence of city school
systems, 177 (Chap. XIII)
Fowlkes, G. F., V
Frame buildings, percentage of all
buildings, 91(T34)
Frasier, G. W., 181
French, instruction costs of in high
schools, 66(T20)
Fund, academic, quotas from, 99(T37)
Fund, common school, amounts for
various quotas and basis of
distribution, 99(T37)
Funds, permanent, total yield, 104(T39)
Gamble, G. C, v
Gasoline tax, 157
General Education Board, iii
General exercises in elementary schools,
cost by grades, 53(T14), 55(T15)
defined, 50
Geometry, instruction costs in high
schools, 66(T20)
Gilbert, Frank B., 93(f.n.)
Governmental activity, value of, 144
Grovemmental expenditures,
general government, net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45),
154(D12)
state and local net, totals and percent-
ages by functions, 153(T45),
154(D12)
Grades in elementary schools,
cost per pupil, 57(T16)
current expenses for, 48
Grammar grade education. See also
Elementary schools,
evening school instruction costs of,
71(T23)
Graves, F. P., iv
Haig, R. M., 156
Hanson, W. L., v
Hatch Act, 95(T36)
Health and sanitation, expenditures,
net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45)
154(D12)
Health instruction in elementary schools,
cost by grades, 53(T14), 55(T15)
defined, 49
High schools, see Elementary and high
schools combined ; Junior
high schools ; Secondary ed-
ucation
Higher education,
cost of, aggregate accrued economic,
7
costs analyzed, 72(T24)
current expenses of, 70
enrolment, 25
instruction costs of, 72(T24)
minimum salaries for, 75(T25A)
number of students of New York
State in attendance on, 70
(f.n.l)
private, cost of, 117
private funds for, 73(f.n.l)
program of, 23, 24(D1), 26-27
property, value of, 72(T24)
state aid for, amounts of, 72(T24)
Highways and streets, expenditures, net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45),
154(D12)
History. See also Social studies in
elementary school,
high school instruction costs of,
66(T20)
Home economics,
federal subventions for,
amount, 95(T36)
total receipts and expenditures,
102(f.n.l)
instruction costs of in evening schools
69(T21), 71(T23)
instruction costs of in high schools
66(T20)
Home-making, see Home economics
Hunt, C. W., V
198
INDEX
INDEX
199
Hunter College,
fees from, included in miscellaneous
revenue for public education,
103
place in state's educational program,
26
teacher training, 73
current expenses for, 74(T25)
Illiteracy, program for, 27
Immigrant education, evening school
instruction costs of, 7l(T23)
Immigrant education quota, 100(f.n.l6)
Improvements, local, assessments for,
115
Imputed interest, how calculated, 87
Income,
aggregate money, estimated,
amounts, 14(T-A), 132(T42),
133(D8)
percentage increase, 15(T-B),
16(D-A)
per capita of population,
amounts, 14(T-A)
percentage increase, 15(T-B),
16(D-A)
compared with value of real estate
and expenditures for public
education, per child of school
age, 137(T43), 139(D10)
defined, 129(f.n.l)
national,
amounts, 132(f.n.)
defined, 131(f.n.3)
net, defined, 148 (f.n.l)
percentage saved, 149, 150
taxable, total by counties, 167(T48)
total assigned to New York State,
134(f.n.l)
Income tax,
business, 113, 157
personal, 11, 109, 113, 129(f.n.l), 158,
159
Indebtedness. See also Bonds; and
Debt,
bonded outstanding, gross, total,
105(T40),
net school, percentage relation to
total value of school prop-
erty, 189(T54)
Index of economic resources, see Eco-
nomic resources, index of
Index of retail prices, 136(f.n.l)
Index of wholesale prices, 136(f.n.l)
Indian schools, quota for, 99(T37)
Industrial education,
evening school instruction costs of,
69(T22), 71(T23)
federal subventions for,
amount, 95(T36)
total receipts and expenditures,
102(f.n.l)
Inheritance tax, 11, 109, 114
Insulin, value of, 144
Insurance, school,
problems of, 190
relation of costs to capital outlay, 80
Interest,
funded debt for public education, on,
cash disbursements for, 4
imputed, how calculated, 87
imputed on value of plant, accrued
economic charge for, 35(T3)
permanent funds, on, total, 104(T39)
relation to current expenses, 42(f.n.l)
total for all education, 117
Interest payments, plant costs, cash
disbursements for, 33 (T2)
Interest rate, variations in, 130
Interest rates on school bonds, 89(T33),
130(f.n.3)
Journal of the American Statistical
Society, 149
Junior high schools,
salaries actually paid, 77(T25B)
salaries, legal minimum, 75(T25A)
Kindergartens,
costs, actual, 58-62
costs if legal requirements and higher
standards were observed, 118
enrolment, 25
program of education on, 23, 24(D1)
salaries, actually paid, 77(T25B)
salaries, legal minimum, 75(T25A)
King, W. I., 136, 149
Land grant colleges, see Agriculture and
mechanic arts, colleges of
Latin, instruction costs of in high schools,
66(T20)
Law, education, problem of codification
of, 191
/rs
\
Legal requirements, cost if fully en-
/ forced, 118
Leisure time, use of, 143 (f.n.l)
Library, State, 26
Licenses, revenues from, received by
localities, 115
Line of "best fit," 122(f.n.l)
Local adjustments, program on, 27
Local improvements, assessments for,
115
Lockwood-Donohue bill (for teachers*
salaries), 92(f.n.2)
Lord, Frank, 82(f.n.l)
McGaughy, J. R., v
Machine shop, evening school instruc-
tion costs in, 69(T22)
Maintenance of buildings, ordinary,
relation to current expenses,
31(f.n.l)
Maryland, state aid for schools in, 161
(f.n.)
Massachusetts, salaries actually paid
rural teachers and principals,
78(T25C)
Melchior, W. T., v
Milbank Memorial Fund, iii
MilUnery, evening school instruction
costs in, 69(T21)
Miscellaneous revenue for education,
total, 104(T39)
Miscellaneous taxes, 11, 109(f.n.5), 114
Mitchell, W. C, iv
Morrill Act, 95'(T36)
Mortgage-recording tax, 11, 109, 114
Motor-vehicle tax, 11 ,109, 114, 157
Municipal Bond Sales, 87
Municipal Information, New York State
Bureau of, 112(footnotes)
National Bureau of Economic Research,
131, 134(f.n.l), 136, 149
National Education Association, iii,
21,78
National Tax Association, 157
New Jersey, salaries actually paid rural
teachers and principals,
78(T25C)
New York City,
assessment of land values, method of,
89
assessment rate on land values, by
boroughs, 90
assessments, unequalized, 131(f.n.2)
attendance, average daily, 167(T48)
buildings, school, age of, 83-85
buildings and equipment, deprecia-
tion in value of, 90
capital outlay,
all public education, cash disburse-
ments for, 33(T2)
types of education, cash disburse-
ments for, 81(T26)
costs, total,
all public education, cash disburse-
ments and accrued economic
cost, 38(T4)
schools of different grades, 40(T5)
current expenses, aggregate, 30(T1)
debt, bonded for education,
amount and percentage of total
state school debt, 105(f.n.l)
percentage relations to full value
of real estate, value of school
property, and total debt for
all purposes, 188(T53)
elementary schools, current expenses
per pupil in, 44(T6)
expenditures, educational, total,
167(T48)
half-time children in, 119
imputed interest on plant, 88
income,
per child of school age, 168(T49)
per pupil in average daily attend-
ance, 168(T49)
per teacher, 168(T49)
percentage of full value of real
estate, 169(T50)
total taxable, 167(T48)
interest rates on school bonds, 89(T33)
number of children of school age,
167(T48)
plant,
adequacy of, 91
method of valuation of, accumu-
lated cost, 88
plant costs,
annual accrued economic charge
for,
imputed interest on value of
plant, 35(T3)
totals, 35(T3)
value of buildings and equipment
worn out each year, 35(T3)
200
INDEX
K
New York City, plant costs,
cash disbursements for,
capital outlay, 33(T2)
interest payments, 33(T2)
totals, 33(T2)
real estate, full value of taxable,
per child of school age, 168(T49)
per pupil in average daily attend-
ance, 168(T49)
per teacher, 168(T49)
total, 167(T48)
revenues, classified by political divi-
sions, 93(T35)
salaries, legal minimum, of teachers,
principals, etc., 75(T25A)
sites, school, value of, 89, 90
state subventions, total, 167(T48)
teacher quota, 100(f.n.)
teachers, number of, 167(T48)
Non-resident tuition quota, 99(T37)
Non-tax-supported schools, see Private
schools
Normal schools,
current expenses of, 74(T25)
part in state's higher education pro-
gram, 26
Normal schools and colleges, combined,
capital outlay, cash disbursements for!
6, 81(T26)
total cost of, 5, 40(T5)
Nurses, school, salaries actually paid to
77(T25B)
Objectives of elementary schools, cur
rent expenses for, 48
One day's schooling, cost of,
percentage increase in, 15(T-B)
16(D-A)
total, 14(T-A)
Organization, problems of, 13, 184(Chap.
XIV)
Over-size classes. New York City, 119
Parochial and private schools. See also
Private schools,
attendance at, 117(f.n.l)
cost of, aggregate accrued economic.
4,7
cost of elementary and secondary
schools, 117
enrolment in, 4
teachers, number of, 4
Partial quotas, 99(f.n.l)
Part-time education, federal subventions
for,
amount, 95(T36, f.n.5)
state basis for distributing, 96
Pasteur's research, value of, 144
Personal income tax, 11, 109, 113, 129
(f.n.l), 158, 159
Personal property tax, 11, 110, 157
Personalty tax, 108(f.n.3)
Physical training quota, 99(T37)
Physically-handicapped children, edu-
cation of, see Special educa-
tion
Physics, mstruction costs of in high
schools, 66(T20)
Plan of a Model System of State and
Local Taxation, 157
Plant, school, adequacy of, 91
Plant costs,
annual accrued economic charge for
34-36, 82-91
cash disbursements for, 4, 6, 31-34
80-82
Police protection, expenditures for, net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45).
154(D12)
Population,
children of school age,
increase in number of, 138
total by counties, 167(T48)
distribution of in the state, 3, 22
economic character of, 161
percentage increase in, 15(T-B)
16(D-A),34
total, increase in, 138
Practical arts, see Fine and practical arts
Principals,
elementary schools,
salaries actually paid to, 77(T25B)
salaries, legal minimum, 75(T25A)
high schools,
salaries actually paid to, 77(T25B)
salaries, legal minimum, 75(T25A)
junior high schools, salaries actually
paid to, 77(T25B)
rural schools, salaries actually paid
to, 78(T25C)
Private (non-governmental) activity,
value of, 145
INDEX
201
m
K
f
r
]
Private schools,
/attendance at private and parochial
schools, 117(f.n.l)
cost of, aggregate accrued economic.
4,7
cost of private and parochial element-
ary and secondary schools.
117
defined, 4
enrolment in, 4, 25
higher education,
amounts contributed from private
sources, 72(T24), 73(f.n.l)
cost of, 117
revenues from private sources, 28
teachers, number of, 4
Product, educational, character of, 141
Professional education, control by State
Department, 26
Professional training, age period for,
24(D1)
Program, educational,
cost if legal requirements fully en-
forced, 118
diagram of whole, 24(D1)
expansions in, 140
summary of whole, 22-28
Property, school, value of,
relation to gross bonded debt for
education, 188(T53)
relation to net school indebtedness,
189(T54)
Property tax, 10, 108, 109, lll(f.n.2),
129(f.n.l), 157-159
Protection of person and property,
expenditures net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45),
154(D12)
Public education,
administration and control of, 3
cost of, total, 4, 116
defined, iii, 4
Pubhc service corporations, value of
franchises, 132(T42, f.n.2)
Public utilities,
expenditures, net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45),
154(D12)
taxes against, for schools, 157
Pupils in average daily attendance,
increase, percentage, 34
Pupils, number enrolled in school, 4
Purchasing power of the dollar, change
in, 5, 136(f.n.l)
Quotas for distributing state aid, 98, 99
RandaU, S. S., 97(f.n.4)
Real estate,
relation to wealth, 130
taxable, full value of,
compared with expenditures for
pubhc education and income
per child of school age,
137(T43), 139(D10)
per capita of population, 14(T-A)
15(T-B), 16(D-A)
percentage increase, 15(T-B).
16(D-A)
percentage relation to gross bonded
debt for education, 188(T53)
percentage relation of income to
168(T49)
total by counties, 167(T48)
total in state, 14(T-A), 132(T42),
133(D8)
value per child of school age com-
pared with expenditures and
sources of revenue on same
basis, 164(T46), 165(T47)
taxation on,
increase in, 130
variations in, 130(f.n.l)
Real estate assessments, 157
Real estate tax, 157
Real property, relation to wealth, 130
Regents, Board of, functions of, 22
Regents' examinations, age period for
24(D1)
Repairs, relation to current expenses
31(f.n.l)
Research, scientific, value of, 143
Retail prices,
index of, 136(f.n.l)
variations in, compared with varia-
tions in expenditures for
pubhc education, 135(D9)
Retarded children, education of, see
Special education
v
202
INDEX
Revenue system. See also Revenues,
description of, 107(Chap. VII)
relation to problem of school finance,
156(Chap. XI) .
summary, 10
Revenues. See also Economic re-
sources; and Revenue sys-
tem,
analyzed by fiscal nature of sources,
101, 102(T38)
federal, total, 93(T35)
increase and diversion of educational
support, 146
local, total, 93(T35)
private schools, 28
relationship to size of unit of school
support, 161 (Chap. XII)
sources of,
analyzed, 92(Chap. VI)
percentages from various political
divisions in cities classified
according to fiscal independ-
ence, 179(T51)
state, total, 93(T35)
summary, 7, 8
totals,
classified according to fiscal char-
acter of sources, 104(T39)
classified by political divisions,
93(T35)
defined, 103
Rural education, defined for New York
State, 25
Rural School Survey of New York State
(by Joint Committee on
Rural Schools), 44(f.n.l),
175(f.n.l)
Rural schools,
buildings, age of, 85(T30), 86(T31),
87(T32)
compulsory age period, 24 (Dl)
salaries actually paid in, 78(T25C)
salaries, legal minimum, 76(T25A)
training of teachers for, 27
Salaries, see Principals; and Teachers*
salaries
Salary-ratio formula, 42
Sanitation, see Health and sanita-
tion
Savings, percentage of national income
saved, 149, 150
Scholarships,
state program for, 23, 26
university, amount devoted to teacher
traming in, 74(T25)
School taxes, method of collecting, 112,
113(f.n.l)
Science, elementary, in elementary
schools, defined, 50
Scientific research, value of, 143
Secondary education. See also Ele-
mentary and high schools
combined ; and High schools,
consolidated high school, program
on, 27
current expenses for high schools,
62-67
economies possible through reducing
curricula, 67(f.n.l)
enrolment, 5, 25
evening schools, cost of work of high
school grade, 68
increase in percentage of population
attending high schools,
138(f.n.l)
plant costs of, 6
•private and parochial elementary
and secondary schools, cost
of, 117
program of, 23, 24(D1)
salaries actually paid in, 77(T25B)
salaries, legal minimum, 75(T25A)
total cost of high schools, 40(T5)
training of teachers for high schools, 27
Sectarian academies, grants to, 99(T37)
Seligman, E. R. A., iv
Separate financing of city school sys-
tems, 177(Chap. XIII)
Serial bonds, value of, 190
Sewing, evening school instruction costs
in, 69(T21)
Sinking funds, value of, 190
Sites, school. See also Plant costs,
appreciation in value of, 80, 88
increase in value of, in New York
City, 90
Smith-Hughes Act, 95(T36)
Smith-Lever Act, 95(T36), 96
Social studies in elementary school,
costs, 52(T13), 53(T14), 55(T15) .
defined, 49
Soft drinks, expenditures for, and edu-
cation, 147
V
X
-\
INDEX
203
Special education,
^ age period, 24(D1)
r costs, 70
enrolment, 25
program, 27
salaries actually paid in, 77(T25B)
Special subject costs, grades in element-
ary schools, 57(T16)
Special subject supervisors, costs of,
grades in elementary schools,
57(T16)
State administration, general, cash dis-
bursements for capital out-
lay of, 6, 81(T26)
State aid, see Subventions, state
State College for Teachers, current ex-
penses of, 74(T25)
State Department of Education,
buildings, data on value of, 87
expenses of, 40(f.n.2)
federal subventions, handling of, 96
fees from, included in miscellaneous
revenues for pubUc educa-
tion, 103
phjrsically handicapped persons, re-
lation to, 27
plant, reports from districts on, 88
professional education, control of,
26
teachers' salaries actually paid, data
on, 76
State Experiment Station, 96
State subventions, see Subventions,
state
State support, defined, 93(T35, f.n.2)
States relations service, federal subven-
tions for education, 95(T36,
f.n.2)
Stenography, instruction costs of in
high schools, 66(T20)
Stock transfer tax, 109, 114
Stone buildings, percentage of all build-
ings, 91(T34)
Stoops, R. O., v
Strayer, G. D., 178
Streets and highways, expenditures,
net,
percentage of total state and local
governmental expenditures,
153(T45), 154(D12)
total state and local, 153(T45),
154(D12)
Subject costs,
elementary schools, in, 48-56
high schools, in, 66(T20)
Subventions,
federal,
amounts, total, 101, 102(T38)
basis of, 94
state,
actual operation of present state
system, 162
amounts per child of school age,
compared with real estate
valuations and sources of
revenue, 164(T46), 165(T47)
amounts, totals, 101, 102(T38)
amounts, totals by counties,
167(T48)
basis of, 94
correlations with economic re-
sources, 173
correlations with school expendi-
tures, 173
county system, under, 166
percentage of school revenue,
164(T46), 165(T47)
relation to size of unit of school
support, 161 (Chap. XII)
state basis for distributing, 97
summary, 8
Supervisors of special subjects in ele-
mentary schools, cost per
grade, 57(T16)
Supervisory quota, 99(T37)
Support of public education, see
Revenues
Swift, F. H., 97(f.n.4)
Syracuse University, 26
Tax(es). See also Assessments,
all purposes, for,
federal, state, and local com-
bined,
amounts, 14(T-A), 150(T44)
percentage increase in, 15(T-B),
16(D-A)
per capita of population,
amounts, 14(T-A)
percentage increase in, 15(T-B),
16(D-A)
federal, state, and local separately,
per capita, 151 (T44)
total, 150(T44), 152(D11)
• !
204
INDEX
:fl
!'
Taxes, all purposes, for,
state and local combined,
amounts, 14(T-A)
collection and distribution,
amounts and officials con-
cerned, 109(D6)
per capita of population,
amounts, 14(T-A)
percentage increase in,
15(T-B), 16(D-A)
percentage increase, 15(T-B),
16(D-A)
assessments, unequalized, New York
City, 131(f.n.2)
business, 11, 109, 113, 157-159
education, for,
compared with taxes for other pur-
poses, 150(T44), 152(D11)
method of collection, 112
per capita of population, 151 (T44)
per child of school age compared
with real estate valuations
and sources of revenue on
same basis, 164(T46),
165(T47)
public utilities, from, 157
total, 104(T39), 150(T44), 152(D11)
totals by political divisions, 107 (T41)
miscellaneous, 11, 109(f.n.5), 114
personal income, 11, 109, 113, 129
(f.n.l), 158, 159
property, 10, 108, 109, lll(f.n.2),
129(f.n.l), 157-159
public service corporations, value of
franchises of, 132(T42, f.n.2)
real estate, full value of taxable,
132(T42)
real estate, on,
increase in, 130
variations in, 130(f.n.l)
summary, 9-11
Tax Association, National, 157
Tax Commission, State,
aid on Inquiry, v
assessment of land values, method of, 89
report of, 131 (f.n.l)
Tax dollar, percentages for education
and other purposes, 12, 151
(T44), 152(D11)
Tax rate on full value of real estate,
amounts, 14(T-A)
percentage increase, 15(T-B), 16(D-A)
Tax reform, relationship to taxation
for schools, 157
Tax system,
changes in, recommended by Joint
Legislative Committee on
Taxation and Retrenchment,
157
characteristics of, 146
relation to taxation for schools, 156
Taxation,
for schools, relation to tax reform, 156
plan of a model system of state and
local taxation, 158
summary of 1921 data, 9, 10
Taxation and Retrenchment, Special
Joint Committee on. Report
of, 110, lll(f.ns.), 156,
164(f.n.)
Teacher training,
cost of, 73, 74(T25)
cost if legal requirements and higher
standards are observed, 118
program of, 23, 26-27
standards for, defined, 118(f.n.l)
subventions, federal, for vocational
work in,
amount and basis, 95(T36)
state basis for distribution of, 97
total receipts and expenditures,
102(f.n.)
Teacher training classes, 27
Teachers,
expenses at conferences, quota for,
99(T37)
number of, by counties, 167(T48)
number of, in all schools, 4
number of, in public schools, 4
salaries,
actually paid in different types
of education, 77(T25B),
78(T25C)
elementary school costs for, by
totals, grades and objec-
tives, 46-58
evening school costs for, 68-70
extent to which covered in this
study, 21, 73
high school costs for, 65(T19),
66(T20)
higher education costs for, 72(T24)
increase in, as related to state aid,
92
\
INDEX
205
/
>
\
minimum salary law, digest of,
75-76
relation to current expenses, 30
relation to elementary school cur-
rent expenses, 46
rural schools, actually paid in,
78(T25C)
summary, 6
Teachers College, Columbia University
iii, V
Teachers' college, state, 27
Teachers' quota,
amount, total for state, 98, 99(T37)
amounts by types of district, 100(f .n.)
operation of, 162
Thurber, C. H., v
Trade education,
federal subventions for,
amount and basis, 95(T36)
state basis for distributing, 97
total receipts and expenditures,
102(f.n.l)
Training classes for teachers,
current expenses of, 74(T25)
place in state's educational program,
27
Training classes for teachers and schools,
grants to, 99(T37)
Training of teachers, see Teacher train-
ing
Training schools,
current expenses of, 74(T25)
minimum salaries for, 75(T25A)
Tuition, non-resident, quota for, (99T37)
Twente, J. W., v
Union free schools. (For material deal-
ing with any particular phase
of education in union free
schools, e.g., elementary
schools, look for union free
schools as a subhead under
the tables deahng with ele-
mentary schools.)
minimum salaries for teachers in,
76(T25A)
Unit costs, see Costs as a subhead of the
particular kind of education,
e.g., elementary schools
evening schools, formula for comput-
ing in, 68
United States Bureau of Education, 70
United States Bureau of Labor
136(f.n.l)
United States Conunissioner of Educa-
tion, iii
United States Department of Agricul-
ture, subventions, federal
for education, 95(T36, f.n.2)
United States Deposit Fund, 97
Updegraff, Harlan, 175(f.n.l)
Urban. See also City,
compulsory age period, 24(D1)
defined for New York State, 25
Utilities, see PubHc utihties
Vehicle tax, motor, 109, 114, 157
Villages. (For material dealing with
any particular phase of edu-
cation in villages, e.g., sec-
ondary education, look for
villages as a subhead under
the tables dealing with sec-
ondary education.)
variations in elementary school costs, 45
Vocational education, cooperative,
federal, subventions for,
amount and basis, 95(T36)
total receipts and expenditures,
102(f.n.l)
Vocational education for teachers,
federal subventions for,
95(T36)
Vocational quota, 99(T37)
Vocational rehabihtation, federal sub-
ventions for, 95(T36)
Vocational schools, program on, 27
Watt's research, value of, 144
Wealth. See also Economic resources;
and Income,
defined, 129(f.n.l)
Wholesale price index, 136(f.n.l)
WoU, M. W., iv
Wood, W. C, iv
Woodworking, evening school instruc-
tion costs in, 69(T22)
Zook, G. F., 70
PUBLICATIONS OF THE EDUCATIONAL
FINANCE INQUIRY
UNDEB THE AUSPICES OF
THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION
Washington, D. C.
The Educational Finance Inquiry Commission has rev-iewed and
will present the following volumes prepared by the individuals
indicated. The scheduled date of publication for each volume is
given with its title.
Copies of these volumes may be purchased from the publishers,
The Macmillan Company, 64 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Volume I. The Financing of Education in the State of New
York.
George D. Strayer and Robert Murray Haig, Members of the
Commission.
Volume II. Elementary School Costs in the State of New
York.
R. O. Stoops, Special Investigator for the Headquarters Staff.
In press, publication scheduled for January, 1924.
Volume III. The Cost of Secondary Education in the State
OF New York.
Charles W. Hunt, Special Investigator for the Headquarters Staff.
In press, publication scheduled for January, 1924.
Volume IV. Bibliography on Educational Finance.
Carter Alexander of the Headquarters Staff. In press, publication
scheduled for February, 1924.
Volume V. The Fiscal Administration of City School Systems.
J. R. McGaughy, Special Investigator for the Headquarters Staff.
In press, publication scheduled for January, 1924.
Volume VI. Financial Statistics of Public Education in the
United States, 1910-1920.
Mabel Newcomer of the Headquarters Staff. In press, publica-
tion scheduled for January, 1924.
The following volumes have been prepared in manuscript for the
Educational Finance Inquiry Commission and are undergoing final
revision for publication .
Volume VII. The Financing of Education in California.
E. P. Cubberley, Member of the Commission, and J. B. Sears of
the Staff for California.
Volume VIII. The Financing of Education in Iowa.
William F. Russell, T. C. Holy, and others of the Staff for Iowa.
Volume IX. The Cost of Public Schools in Illinois.
H. C. Morrison, Member of the Commission.
Volume X. The Political Unit of School Support in Illinois.
Floyd W. Reeves, Special Investigator for the Staff for Illinois.
Volume XI. The Public School Debt in Illinois.
George W. Willett, Special Investigator for the Staff for Illinois.
Volume XII. The Trend of Current School Tax Costs in
Illinois Cities.
Nelson B. Henry, Special Investigator for the Staff for Illinois.
Volume XIII. Unit Costs in Higher Education.
E. C. Elliott, Member of the Commission, and E. B. Stevens.
Special Investigator for the Headquarters Staff.
D 399
Date Due
)
•
1
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9
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Educational finance inquiry com.
The financing of education in the
state of New York... ^ "
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